Blood Sweat and Fears
by Banhammer44
Summary: BEING RE-WRITTEN! Antoine gets shipped to the front lines,and he learns what being a soldier means when you serve an aging monarchy. When all is said and done, will he be able to look at himself in the mirror? Heavy ARCHIEVERSE & BEING RE-WRITTEN!
1. The Commission

This is my First Sonic story. If you are an Antoine Hater, then don't read, yet. Later on it'll live up to the title. This is some good old fashioned set up.

The rating is in anticipation of upcoming chapters.

* * *

He held the paper in one hand, and spoke in a strong, powerful voice. "She sells sea shells by the sea shore" A pause, he struggled with the words. "Se shells she sells by the she sore,_ zut_." His English was almost there, but Antoine still struggled with some parts.

The paper was cast aside, and he resumed his waiting, always the waiting. The house seemed smaller without his _amour_ around. He chuckled to himself; whether he liked it or not, French was a beautiful language.

Minutes seemed like hours; Antoine checked his watch. He had no idea when Bunnie and Sonic would return from Sand Blast city, but he had nothing better to do.

_Je pense que..._

Damn, he stopped himself. Think in the language, learn the language.

_I think I'll go out for a while. _

He stood in front of the mirror, he still looked good. His uniform was beginning to fit him **too **well. No matter, he could just get Rosie to fix that. With one final look over, Antoine went for the door.

_I wonder where I'll go?_

He swung the door open, and he barely stopped from running into a small beaver that was standing on his porch, finger hovering over the doorbell. He was definitely surprised. "Qu'est-ce que c'-" He shook his head "What is it?"

_I hope Bunnie returned._

"Antoine D'Coolette?" The beaver asked, either ignoring or failing to notice the large nameplate over the door.

"That is me…" Ant noticed the uniform. He hoped this wasn't…

"Military Summons, King Max wishes to see you." A small envelope was revealed bearing the royal seal.

_Merde_

He reached for the summons, and was immediately told "Now."

"What?"

"You have to go NOW" The rodent stressed the last word. Ant got the message, and was quickly on his way.

"Thanks" He said in passing.

_A military summons, I hope Max has simply called me over to inform me of some… petit matter. _

The castle was as intimidating as ever. The guards stopped him, asked for his papers. He obliged. The long hallway to the throne room was… decorated, to say the least. Precious metals adorned the walls and the ceiling was coated in jewels. The frivolity both awed and disgusted him, his time with _l'__homme de commun, _and he felt differently about the royal family. He was still loyal to the death, but he had just seen the other side too. Antoine was lead to a door, a 30 foot tall door that was just as ornate as the whole castle. He was given a brief speech about addressing his majesty, he ignored it, he's done this enough times. The doors swung open , and a band was playing, but could not be seen.

_The fanfare was never this grand. This is ridiculous. _

"Hello your maje-"

Before a single step was taken, guards descended upon Ant, and before he could react he was smothered. His head was sticking out of the pile, and he saw the king looming over him. Max's mouth moved, but Ant didn't hear anything. Max leaned in close and yelled.

"PASSWORD!" The king was practically in his face.

_Oh…._

"Pineapple!" The muffled sound was the best that Ant could produce when at the bottom of a dog pile; well, to be correct it was a gorilla pile, but you get what I mean. The king motioned, and the guards were off of him, and back in the shadows. "Mais, Qu'est-ce que tu fais?" He quickly reprimanded himself. "Excuse me, your majesty" He began dusting himself off.

"You can't be too careful, Antoine. Especially not after the recent, events."

_Oui, but you can be too paranoid._

The king was referring to the attempted reforms of Amadeus Prower. He tried to fix the system, but the king was in no mood to play around. Luckily, Mr. Prower accepted defeat and a demotion before the events went public. He was sent around the world to guard some sorry outpost. His wife accompanied him, and Tails was left behind with the Freedom Fighters. As a D'Coolette, Antoine HAD to support the king, even at the cost of alienating himself. He had no choice.

"I've called you here for a reason, Antoine" The king motioned him over. "I have just received two reports from Sand Blast City…" Antoine perked up.

_Aha! Bunnie must be on her way home!_

"One from Sonic, and one from the Sand Blasters." He went over to a small desk and picked up two papers, he held one out in front of him. This report was radioed in mere hours ago. "Sand Blast City is doing fine; there is a D.E.L presence, but not enough to cause major problems. There was some fighting, and in the process a major oil refinery was destroyed. We are on the way back, see ya." He shuffled his papers.

_Ok, sounds good, it's not a very long journey, they should be here by tomorrow._ Antoine felt at ease.

"The other report is interesting. The sand blasters claim that, and I quote "The D.E.L presence is substantial, the loss of the oil refinery is an opening for a strike that we cannot pass up. We request a dispatch of troops to help us."" Max cleared his throat and continued reading "We understand that defeating Eggman himself is a large goal, but the defeat of the local D.E.L and the seizure of the oil supplies would contribute largely to that goal." Max looked up.

_ Oh, well then. He wouldn't call me here just to tell me that…_

"Considering the situation, and the recent change in… management, we require a new general."

"That is true, your majesty"

_ I don't believe it!_

"I need someone with experience to be the new General. Someone who knows what they are doing. And I believe you know where I'm going with this."

Antoine shuddered with anticipation, and despite recent events his love of country was swelling within him. But that soon passed.

"Antoine D'Coolette, I need you…" King max reached in his cloak for something. He pulled out a document. "…To serve your kingdom as Prince Elias' chief officer for his desert campaign."

_I don't believe it..._

* * *

There ya go. Right in the gut. Tried to think of a better ending, but this is good for now. Antoine is going to be praying like moments like these before this story is up.


	2. Duty

It seems that I have written a second chapter! I hate the set-up.

I want to get to the good parts, with the blood and the emotional downward spiral of some poor souls!

* * *

The commission felt heavy in his hands, the weight amplified by the sheer disappointment. Antoine didn't know how to respond. He reflected for a few awkward moments passed.

_I… I don't understand…_

Then with as much sincerity as he could muster, Antoine responded. "Thank you, your majesty. I am honored for the opportunity to serve the Kingdom."

King Max placed a hand on the young coyote's shoulder. "Everyone knows of your great deeds. You deserve this." His majesty sighed, and retreated a few steps back, before adding: "Your father would be proud" The words stung Antoine's Ears.

_Proud? Of a low level officer who shuns his own namesake? _His thoughts raced through his mind. _What type of Experience does __Elias have anyway? _Antoine was cut off by more news.

"You leave today." Those simple words echoed in the giant throne room. Max's cloke kicked up some dust as he twirled around to tend to other business.

_What?_

_ "_Your majesty?" Antoine reached out to grab Max, but upon remembering the guards, he pulled back.

"We must capitalize on this opportunity as soon as possible." Max leaned over his desk, facing away from Antoine, and looked over some papers.

"But what of my wife? We haven't seen each other in days!" He reminded the King.

"It's a minor sacrifice, you will be able to write to her. And besides, the campaign should not last long." Antoine continued to press.

"But who will we take with us? We can't take the royal army to sand blast city!" The new officer informed his King.

"We will use new recruits, Sonic made it clear that only a small force was present." Max became impatient. "The campaign will be quick and decisive."

"We know nothing of the defenses, the encampments!"

"I am sure the Sand Blasters will share their intelligence."

"How about supplies? We cannot pick up everything and go. We need logistics and a supply chain!" Antoine was listing the basics of any campaign. His frustration deepened.

"You will be deployed now, supplies will arrive later"

"How is that a quick and decisive campaign?"

Max attempted to answer, but Antoine wouldn't let him.

"And then what? What is the plan of attack?"

"We will divide our forces, and strike in two places"

Antoine balled his fists, and shook silently.

_Je ne comprendre pas. __Ce plan n'est pas intelligent! __Mais max ne voit pas!_

Max paused. "Do you not trust Elias' plan?"

" C'est un plan des imbéciles!" Antoine failed to stop himself. He covered his mouth.

Max sighed. "And your English was getting so much better…"

"I…" Antoine paused. How could he speak out in such a way? He would never have said such things before. He expected a court-martial, mere minutes after getting his position. But Max simply stood there, looking as worn out as ever. Years of broken trust have left him a broken man. He was in no mood to alienate himself from the ONE family still loyal to the crown. He simply said.

"I understand your concerns, but I am confident in my son's plan."

He motioned to his right, and three weasels entered the room. "These are the technical directors; they will oversee the entire operation in conjuncture with Elias." The weasels gave Antoine a glance over, he couldn't sense a reaction. Antoine felt like pushing his luck.

"Since we will be fighting the D.E.L, we will be needing experts on technology. I believe that Miles Prower would be very useful on this missi-"King Max wheeled around.

"We do NOT need the assistance of the PROWER child!" He spat. His stern voice only aiding his point: "It has been proven that keeping the affairs of the Kingdom within certain boundaries serves its purposes better." He narrowed his eyes. "And I don't believe your recent actions have endeared yourself to him, hmm? I do commend you for your concern, but my men are more than capable of handling a few robian miscreants. Children have no place in the affairs of men."

"I see, i apologize, your majesty." Ant bowed.

_Was this the royal family my __father__ had served so loyally?__ Were they just a few Paranoid __bourgeois __that__ would throw the kingdom under the bus whenever they wish__ed__?_

Before his mind could wander further, the King got back on track.

"If you wish to meet the men before you are deployed, I suggest you go now, Antoine." Antoine looked up; the Kings back was turned to him, again. He pointed towards the three weasels. "They will show you out."

"Thank you, your majesty." The commission was tightly held in his grasp. As weasels led him out, Antoine took one last look at the Castle. He was no longer blind to the superfluous extravagance in which the royal family lived. He thought of himself less and less like a true D'Coolette, protector of the throne.

The outside air was stuffy, the humidity and the heat driving even those most able to deal with weather inside for the day. The Weasels said their goodbyes, and quickly left Ant to travel by himself, with only a faint idea of where to head.

_Good, I would rather not walk with all the eyes on me._

Despite what the king had said, the attempted reforms of a former general did reach the public. The populous also took note of the man who had arrested, and jailed him. Amadeus Prower was a hero to the common man, and Antoine's actions, while in line with his sense of duty, were not interpreted as such by the citizens. The name D'Coolette was now an insult, an affront to the people. It represented the old order that simply reigned over its people. Antoine had ceased speaking French, to further separate himself from the name, but he never stopped wearing the uniform, it meant too much.

His solitary walk continued, until he was in the large field at the center of the city. There were APC's, and about 1 to 2 thousand men. Antoine was shocked, he had never expected so many men here, and he picked up the pace, and made his way to a makeshift command center. He was greeted at the entrance by two guards, "Stop!" But Antoine was prepared. He pulled out his commission, and held it aloft. They knew who he was, and they reluctantly let him in.

"Well now, I see that his majesty is really scraping the barrel if he's bringing in kids!" An older gentleman commented upon Ant's entrance. He didn't respond. Ant looked around the room, and noted some of the faces, the three weasels had somehow showed up, and were in the back conversing among themselves . Antoine merely waited for General Elias to welcome him. He wondered if he should call him Sir, or my liege.

The Prince stepped forward with open arms. "Ah, Antoine! I knew my father would choose you for this campaign! Your experience will prove invaluable!" He extended a hand. Elias might not have experience, but he makes up for it with personality. He doesn't let his royal blood separate himself from the people. A fact Antoine cannot help but admire. He shook his hand warmly.

_He would make a great King. But for now, he is my commander, whether I like it or not._

"Yes, he will make an apt bodyguard, we all know of his devotion to the royalty!" The comment came from the same gentleman. He was an aging wolf, a Lieutenant Colonel; his uniform had obviously seen some years, and some battles. The sabre at his side was worn, but the most telltale sign was his face, it was covered with scars.

Under his breath, Antoine couldn't stifle a "Ta Gueule!" His hand instinctively reached for his sabre, but he stopped himself. He was fortunate that nobody had seen him.

"Please, we are all here for the same reason!" Elias stepped back and addressed the collection of officers and senior staff. "We have to work together if we want to defeat the D.E.L, and secure Sand Blast city!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" The same wolf inquired.

"Please, , my plan depends on us working together."

"We would love to hear the details!"

"You'll be briefed upon arrival!"

"You're waiting until we get there? I have to go into battle with a bunch of raw recruits and no strategy? We barely even have a battalion! How do you expect us to hold a city with such a force?" The entire tent erupted with the yells of other high ranking officers.

Despite years of training, and the legacy of his family, Antoine couldn't help but agree with the old wolf. But he could not bring himself to join their voices.

"SILENCE!" Elias seized control of the room. "Go to your men, I trust you to handle the situation until I GIVE ORDERS!"

The quiet in the room was almost tangible. The men began to shuffle out of the tent, some disgruntled, others encouraged. Antoine was the last one out, he was going to give some words of encouragement to Elias, but decided against it.

"Hey." He turned his head, and was face to face with . "Kid, you had better do a gut check, because you're about to be on the front lines, with lives on the line. I will NOT let men die because a little punk like you wanted to be like daddy, and went to war."

Antoine's anger reached a boiling point, he was amazed that he could keep it in. He took a deep breath. "I consider my responsibilities as a soldier to be priority number one, and I would like to know that there is some sense of camaraderie between the officers."

_Ha, he can't argue with that! Now maybe we can talk like equals…_

"Kid, I used to be like you…" He placed a hand on Ant's shoulder, and smiled. "And then I grew a brain, a heart and some balls." Antoine stood his mouth wide open.

Without another word, Solman left, and Antoine was alone. He continued on, hoping that the day would not get any worse.


	3. The plot Thickens!

My Third Chapter in three days! Wow! I guess i'm speeding along, desperately trying to get to the good parts, and out of the set-up. Oh well.

For my first story of this franchise, i must say i feel pretty confident. I hope that no Elias lovers come after me though.

If you read this and say "Why doesn't Ant speak funny?" I would say. "Read the previous chapters." And "I speak French, it's really hard to do a fake accent for a language you hear all the time! I can't do the random z's and the mispronunciations, because i actually speak the language."

**Twan:** The story is going in a straight line on a 4 dimensional graph. for now.

Well, here is part three. I hope you enjoy. READ AND REVIEW.

* * *

One of the most important parts of being a leader is knowing your men, preferably before you're forced onto the battlefield with them. Most successful leaders had the opportunity to bond with thetroops, and then were sent to fight. Antoine would not get that chance. Elias realized that his plan, which he kept under his arm at all times, called for an early deployment. Ant was herded into an APC with the other lieutenants. He pulled the General aside.

"Can I ride with my men?"

"Sorry Antoine, the plan calls for the officers to ride together, so they can go over the Intel." Elias waved his papers for dramatic affect. There was no point in arguing, and Lt. D'Coolette stepped into the metal vehicle. Seething with anger.

APCs were designed to transport troops, while also protecting them from most dangers going on outside. Antoine was more worried about what could happen inside the vehicle. He looked around. He knew that there was a lot of animosity towards him, and it didn't help that the one senior officer hated his guts. He hoped that the intelligence reports would spark some conversation, but it seemed that no one actually had the reports. This news caused a mass complaint about the incompetence of "His Majesty-to-be." Antoine remained silent. The groans died down after a while, and then except for the roar of the engine, the trip was silent.

He wanted to write to his wife, but the bumpy ride and the lack of privacy prevented it. He was cramped up in-between two other lieutenants. The one on his left wore a brand new uniform, but was older. It seemed that he had finally gotten the promotion he wanted. The Lieutenant on his left was much younger, and could even be the same age as Antoine. Ant didn't feel like trying his luck with a conversation. He kept to himself for the whole 6 hour journey. Deciding that a philosophical self-journey would be a good use of his time.

_Ok, where to begin. Why am I so mad?_

_ You aren't very confident_. _**N**__**o, not quite.**_

_You can't ride with your men. _ _**Yeah, that sucks, but I'm not enraged over it.**_

_ You think the plan is stupid_**. **_**Now we're getting somewhere**_.

_ You despise those that despise you. __**I- I guess I do.**_

_ You won't admit your hate. __**Hate?**_

_ You hat__e the General's plan. __**Yes, but that doesn't mea- **_He cut himself off.

_ You hate the General. __**Oh my.**_

_ You hate the Prince. __**…**_

_ You hate the King. __**Stop it! **_His lack of sanity slowly dawned on him, but too late, he finally got to the big point

_ You hate the Royal Family. __**… **_He was stunned, he simply wanted to meditate, and now his mind turned on him, revealing a truth that he had spent so long ignoring.

With a lurch, the APC stopped, literally shaking Antoine out of it. They had reached the Sand Blaster's Camp. The officers all gave silent thanks for the end of the grueling journey, and proceeded to leave the vehicle. Antoine stepped into a blinding light, only amplified by the bareness of the landscape. It took a while for his eyes to adjust. The barren landscape only added to his depressed state. With a quick look around, Antoine noticed that the troops were at attention, waiting for orders.

"At Ease!" They all took a slightly less rigid stance. Ant saw Elias leave the main APC, with the royal flag flying high on the antenna, the two weasels at his side. They whispered something to him. He nodded, and continued walking; his uniform was that of the Prince, but with a few stars sewn on as an afterthought. Antoine looked at him in a new light, inspired by his mental match of tennis.

_Do I really hate him? _

"Glad to see you showed, but a warning would have been appreciated." A gray rabbit, with one eye missing, stood before Elias, his men behind him.

Elias straightened out his papers, and gave them a quick glance over before looking up. "Jack." He waited for a bow that would not come, realizing this he extended his arm. Their firm handshake was a sign of at least some mutual respect. "I hope this shows that the Kingdom of Acorn is fully prepared to help anyone in the fight against Eggman's forces."

"I'm glad the King could spare us a battalion. I didn't know you had such a large force to spare. What about defending home?" Jack Rabbit inquired. His men shifting silently behind him.

"We benefit from having a large population, and citizens patriotic enough to serve." Elias motioned towards the troops. "I have full confidence in their abilities."

"Hmph. Well, your majesty, shall we discuss our strategy?"

In response, the king held his plan aloft. "That won't be necessary, just look over this." Without a word, the smallest weasel scurried forward to present a copy of the plan to Jack. He was taken aback.

"Well wait just a minute! You have no idea of the situation, and you've already made a plan?" Jack was taken aback, he flipped through the pages, and stopped. "What is this? You want to launch a two pronged attack from the oil refinery at the D.E.L base?"

"Yes, it will catch them by surprise, the key is tha-" He didn't finish his sentence.

"We DON'T HAVE the oil refinery!" The leader of the Sand Blasters threw the papers on the ground in disgust. "The D.E.L took it back!"

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me! We do NOT have control of the Oil Refinery! I told you there would be new Intel upon arrival!" Jack took several steps forward, rage evident in his voice. The Prince took a step back, his hands trembling. The three weasels frantically ran to Elias, and whispered something to him.

The General was in damage control, he feebly attempted to take control of the situation. "I see. Then I guess we should rethink our strategy. Thank you for sharing this crucialinformation at such a _convenient _time."

"Any time, _sir." _Jack got in the final word, he gathered his men and departed, leaving Elias standing there.

The troops were witnessing a defining moment of weakness, and they realized it. "Antoine!" Prince Elias called.

_Oh now what? I don't want to be chewed out for your failures!_

"Come with me." He looked to the other officers. "Get with your men; I'll be with you all in a minute."

"Yes sir!" The Officers turned and began barking orders at the enlisted men. Antoine followed the General into the tent.

"What is it sir?"

"Fuck that Rabbit! He couldn't save the Intel for later? He just HAD to play me, right in front of the men!" Elias paced around the room, almost as if searching for something lost.

_Fuck? _Antoine was more focused on the language than the message. _A new word, judging from the tone, it isn't very pleasant. I Guess I should only use it when- _

"Antoine? Are you fucking listening to me?" The Prince was in his face, the look in his eyes was almost frightening.

"Oui!" Ant snapped to attention. "What's the plan, sir?"

"I'm not going to let that bastard make a fool of me! I'll show him that this plan can't fail!"

_He's still going on about that idiotic plan? Oh God. This is why I hate him… _he corrected himself. _This is why I'm so frustrated, the stupidity._

"I trust you Antoine, the D'Coolette name has never let us down. I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Antoine did not like where this was going.

"You're getting assigned to head up Alpha Company."

"Doesn't someone else already have that job?"

"Yes, but I need YOU to do this, understand?"

"Yes,sir" _This is not going to make me any friends_ "What will I be doing with Alpha Company? Surely the plan cannot go forward as… planned?" He failed to find a better choice of words.

"It will!" Elias was adamant.

"How so?"

"You will take the Oil Refinery!"

"QUOI?" Ant was stunned. "Je ne voit pas mes homes! Comment…" He took a deep breath "How can you expect me to take the refinery under these circumstances?"

Elias looked 'twan in the eyes, and took a step foreward. "Because you CANNOT fail me, do you understand Antoine? I have had enough disappointment, if you cannot succeed, I will find someone who can, and your ass WILL end up on the front lines. This operation WILL take place posthaste."

"But I-"

"I'm glad you are so optimistic." Elias walked past Antoine.

"Sir, I don't th-" Ant turned, trying to plead with the King.

"You are dismissed. If you will excuse me, I must speak with the other officers, I believe that Johnson should be informed of his demotion."

Prince Elias, Heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Acorn, left the room. Leaving Antoine by himself.

_Je le Hais._

* * *

Oh SNAP!

If you speak french, good. if you don't , let's just say that the final sentence is a repeat, he said it before, but in english.

I hope these first couple of chapters help show 'Twan's development as a character.


	4. Sanity is overrated

OK, so this chapter is almost all internal monologue. I'm trying to introduce the 'inner voice', without doing it as an after thought.

**IOPENASH:** I love Antoine as a character. I'm trying to show the real side of him, rather than perpetuating the hate.

**TWAN**: Ok, The story is about to go south, (if you didn't guess), so hopefully he goes even crazier

* * *

The cramped quarters seemed to shrink, closing in on him. Antoine huddled in the corner, trying to understand what was going on. He locked himself in his room, trying to reign himself in. His thoughts erratic, uncontrolled.

_Merde, Merde, Merde! __Je vais en perdu la tete. __Je ne sais Pourquoi !_

There was another voice, quieter, which answered him from the dark.

_You know why, don't kid yourself. Just look deeper._

He had never felt like this. This anger, it just surged from within himself. He had no idea why he felt this way. The fresh, fist sized holes in the drywall were a feeble attempt to vent this new feeling. The desperation led him to frantically pace around the room. From nowhere, a moment of clarity seized his mind.

Ant hadn't prayed in so long, he decided that it was better now or never. But how to start? He fell to his knees, and tried remembering how the prayer went. He decided to wing it.

_Notre Pere, help me. I confess that I am filled with hatred. Believe me; I don't know why I feel like this. I don't want to know why. I just want the strength to overcome it._ He reflected, and added an extra line.

_ Don't make me end up like him._

The voice came again to spoil the party.

_That's insulting, and besides, it wouldn't be all bad._

Before he could retort, there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, the person at the door entered. It was the last person Ant wanted to see.

"Hello kid." Solman wore a sly grin. "Talking to yourself?"

"Actually I was praying." Antoine got up, and dusted himself off.

The old Lieutenant nonchalantly took a few steps foreward, into the desolate room. He looked around, and let slip: "Same thing, really."

"Are you going to berate me, or do you have something to tell me?" Antoine was in no mood to joke around, especially not with him.

_We do agree, he is an ass. _The second voice said.

"Just stopped by to inform you that your, _mission, _ has been delayed a week." The news was good, and bad. Now he had more time to himself.

"What?"

"Yeah, you have one week until you take the refinery. I would suggest that you actually get to know the men. You know, before you get them killed." With a pirouette, the old fox left.

Antoine waited until Solman was out of earshot. "Fuck." He was proud of finally using that word.

_Wow, didn't think you had it in you. Good __job! _Once again, the inner voice spoke up, with just a hint of sarcasm.

_Shut up. _Antoine sat down on his bed. _What are you? Are you some kind of ghost, haunting me? _Antoine felt weird asking himself this.

_You__ mean who. And the answer is obvious.__ I __AM you. You just neglected me, and no__w I'm here to help. _The response chilled Antoine to the bone.

_ Help?_

_ Yes. It doesn't matter what others say, or what we think. You are still considered a coward. But now you have a chance! You're finally feeling the hate! You can channel it, and achieve anything!_

_ You sound just like… _The cogs in Antoine's brain began to grind, trying to move.

_Patch? _Can a mental voice be smug?

_Are you him? _A combination of Shock and wrath.

_No! That's ridiculous, this is YOUR head. But I will admit that I liked that guy. That is part of what I'm trying to tell you. You remember your time on Moebius._

_ Yeah, it sucked. I was away from my wife, and everyone was so… selfish._

_ They were royalty! They ruled their world as kings, so what if they worked for Scourge, they had real power. What are you, a bit player in the world? You know your potential, but you ignore it. Patch showed up here, and he almost took the whole kingdom! Think of what you could do! But you keep getting held back. _Antoine sensed disgust in the voice.

_By what?_

_ Ethics, Duty, Honor, those things. Patch doesn't have those, and look at him!_

_ He's a lonely and __pathetic__ sociopath._ _What makes you think I'm made out for power? I'm not sonic, I don't have super speed. I'm no ruler._ Antoine stood up, he walked over to the sink and splashed water on his face. He was unperturbed by the fact that he was arguing with himself, more concerned with where the conversation was heading.

_ Are you stupid? You don't recognize true strength when you see it! _A long pause. _Sonic is only successful BECAUSE of his super speed. He doesn't have the guts to do what it takes to get what he wants. __Out of the freedom fighters, who's had the most radical change? YOU. Who was forced to live a lie in another dimension? YOU. Who has to overcome the fact that you are hated by most people because of your last name? Not Sonic, not Tails, but YOU. You have so much inner strength; you have__ so much hate __that I can't stand seeing you waste it like this! But don't worry; it won't be too long until you see the light. Eventually you'll come to me, begging for me to forgive your ignorance, and I will. Because after all, I'm you, and I'll always be here._

Ant didn't know how to respond to that, unfortunately, he agreed with some of it. Antoine backed away from the sink, and got ready to meet the troops. But he didn't feel right. He asked one final question.a

_Are you my ego? My conscience?_

_ I'm just your inner voice, I'm your guide on the journey to success._

_ Does ever one have one? An inner voice, I mean._

_ Nope, just you__._

_ What? How can that be? _All he got in response was the truth.

_Because you're fucking crazy! _A laugh, and then silence.

* * *

**_Tell me what you think of the 'inner voice'._**


	5. It's about to hit the Fan

Another chapter? Woah. This is crazy. This chapter is light on the internal strife, but it's there. The speech was written in 5 minutes, so don't judge. Actually, judge the HELL out of it.

OH MAH GAWD, i hope the story doesn't suck, and for those who care, the action is about to start, hence the chapter name. Expect more insanity.

* * *

The Desert sun beat down on the camp. Uniforms were quickly unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up. The equipment was standard year round, no one believed there would be desert fighting. From the doorway, Antoine could make out a large gathering of men in the middle of the encampment; he decided that anything was better than talking to yourself. The inner voice was eerily quiet.

'Twan swung the door open dramatically, and began to stroll through camp. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew what he was looking for.

The camp was just outside of Sand Blast city. The citizens, while grateful, did not want the army men living in the city. The Kingdom's army was always held in suspicion around the globe, especially after the widely publicized internal strife. At which Antoine was the center of attention. He intended to go to HQ, and have a serious chat with Elias.

_Yeah, 'chat'. Good plan. _ He finally spoke up.

A large tent appeared before him. It was HQ. The tent was made of very flammable cloth; Antoine thought someone should look into that.

_I__t would be a shame if the HQ burned up…_

_Different thoughts, Different Thoughts…._Ant panicked, and ran from the command center. His Sabre clanking as he sprinted.

Everyone in the area turned, and saw the back side of a coyote, running into the distance. He stopped, bent over, and tried to regain his breath.

_God damn it!_

"Umm, Lieutenant?" There was a voice from above.

Antoine looked up, and saw two men, a bulldog, with grey fur and short, black hair, and a brown Raccoon with browner hair. Their patches indicated the ranks of Sergeant Major and Staff Sergeant, respectively.

Ant stood up straight and composed himself. "Yes?"

The two enlisted men snapped to attention. Antoine waved his hand and they were at ease. The mongoose spoke up. "Staff Sergeant Vance and Sergeant Bowman, sir. We have orders to escort you to Alpha Company."

"Um… Yeah. Do the men know about the new… situation?"

"Yes and no. The squad leaders know, but I'm not sure about the grunts."

Antoine scratched his head. "Ok, well I'd like to meet them ASAP. We have a week to get acquainted."

"A week, what happens in a week?" The raccoon spoke up.

Ant regretted saying anything. "I'll tell you guys eventually. I'd rather have you all together."

_Ooh, a couple hundred birds with one stone?_

"No!" Antoine said out loud. The two Sergeants looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, let's go"

"Yes sir, here is a fresh Intel report." Vance handed a document to Ant, and then led the way, with Bowman at Ant's side.

The camp was barren, nothing but OD green and tan as far as the eye can see. There were some locals around, but they didn't do much, just some errands for the men. As long as the troops stayed out of the city, the people were fine with it.

"We're here." Vance cleared his throat. Antoine saw about 300 men, gathered in one large mass in the nearby clearing. The Bulldog took a step forward, and with a booming voice: "ATTENTION! " The grunts scrambled to fall into line. It took them all of seven seconds to get ordered.

A group of six men approached Antoine. Three in front, three in back. They stopped in front of him, and saluted. "Sir." They said collectively.

Ant returned the salute. In Turn, the three men in front spoke.

"Staff Sergeant Johnson, first Platoon." An orange and white striped tiger. He turned and motioned to the rabbit that was behind him. "This is Sergeant Lee" The man to his left spoke up.

"Staff Sergeant Cryer, second Platoon." A small blue platypus. Without turning around: "Sergeant Begel" The final person spoke.

"Staff Sergeant LaPlace, Third Platoon." A young coyote, only a few years older than Antoine, he had yellow fur, with a cap covering his head. His nonchalant expression unnerved Ant. He pointed behind himself. "That's Sergeant Boggs." The large, blue armadillo behind him nodded.

Vance piped up. "And you know us, we're fourth platoon."

Antoine looked at the men around him, they were all older than him, how was he supposed to lead them?

_What did I get myself into?_

"Well, uhm… I'll address the men, meet me afterwards at 1st Company HQ." Ant saluted the sergeants, and they went to be with their men.

_What will I say? _He had no clue what to do. Ant sure as heck didn't want to make any enemies, but he seriously wanted to speak to the troops.

_OOH! Let me help! _A certain inner voice interjected.

_That's a terrible idea. _He reprimanded himself.

_Fine, go up there, and make an ass of yourself. _

_I will! _He realized how that sounded. _You know what I mean._

_Of course I do! I AM you! How many times do I have to say that?_ That line always got to him; he didn't want to believe it. He just took a deep breath, and made his way forward.

There was a makeshift platform at the center of the crowd. Antoine scaled the steps, and upon reaching the top, he realized that the men were still at attention. He started off with a casual "At ease!"

The troops simultaneously shifted into a slightly less rigid stance. They all looked up expectantly. Ant could easily see that some of the men knew who he was. This speech would not be easy, he just hoped his English would hold.

"My fellow Soldiers, you have probably heard other speeches, they all said that this is a great crusade that we are undertaking. We are fighting for the safety of others, and ultimately, for the safety of all." He looked around the crowd, his voice rose steadily. "You probably heard that we are fighting them here, so we don't fight them at home; and that this is necessary for our kingdom." He cleared his throat. "As you've been told, you are fighting for your king." Ant looked down, made a mental prayer, and looked up. "I want you to know, that's a load of shit." He noticed a low murmur from the troops, and looks of shock. "We're fighting because we can, because we have the CHANCE to deal a blow to the enemy. We fight here not because of our country, but because we are the world's best shot. You are going to go and fight, and not for your King, but for the greater good. When you are out in the field, you must remember that you are fighting for the world, and NOT for the King. Fight for the world's freedom, fight for you families. Fight for your brothers, the men in front of you, behind you, and to your sides. Every man here is your brother, and as brothers you must join and fight! Join and fight as one! We will fight, and we will struggle, and we will suffer, but we WILL WIN! And no one will stop us! Because we are ALPHA COMPANY!" A roar from the troops, his speech might be treason, and he might get arrested, but he sure as hell got them motivated.

To the rear, Ant could see the frantic motions of the surprised commanders. One of them walked around the crowd, heading right towards the Platform, it looked like Solman. He didn't look happy.

_Oh well. It's totally worth it. _

Antoine made his way down the steps, and came face to face with Solman. He got right into the wolf's face. "May I help you?"

"You son of a bitch." Solman raised both his arms. Antoine tensed up, expecting a strike.

Instead he felt a light tap on his shoulders, Solman was looking down on him, Smiling. "You never told me that deep down, there was a man in there." The wolf's smile faded quickly. "But you've still got a ways to go, so don't feel too happy." The lieutenant left quickly, heading towards HQ.

_Wow, he has a Soul ,and compassion! I guess he isn't so bad after all._

_Nah, He's still a dick. You should frag'im! _His inner voice said.

_Would you shut the fuck up and leave me alone?_

_How can I do that? I AM YOU. You don't catch on very quickly do you? I mean, you've been arguing with your inner self for a day now, you should now the basics._

_That I'm insane, and you're like my conscious?_

_WHAT? No! I'm like a PB &J. You are the bread, and inside is your ego and your id just mashed together. Your conscious would be your superego, and he's a pussy. _

_Well I don't think- _He wasn't allowed to finish that thought. A group of six men appeared in front of Antoine, they didn't have any insignia.

"Lieutenant D'Coolette?"

"Um, Yeah?" He expected many things after what he just did, but this was the worst."

"Direct orders, you just got the midnight recon. Have fun out there."

_Oh god, not midnight patrol.__"_But I nee-"

"Midnight patrol Lieutenant, it's the perfect plan to back that speech up. I hope for your sake you meant the things you said. Try to have a good time on Recon"

He was once again left to contemplate his situation, and for all intents and purposes:

_Je suis dans la merde._

_

* * *

_Another French ending! It's almost like it is a theme! Funny, huh?


	6. Downward Spiral

Two chapters in a day? HOLY SHIT. More internal dialogue, YAY! Next chapter there will be even more!

OK, EXPERIMENT TIME, the internal monologue will be separated with lines from the rest of the story. and the inner voice will be in bold. please comment on how you like these changes.

_

* * *

God it's really dark out. _Ant preferred the blinding light of the day. This recon mission at midnight was a stupid idea; they didn't give him any night vision equipment, or anyone who could see well in the dark. He had no clue where he was because he didn't have a map. Their position was ideal, a large field of view, and not much chance of detection.

_I'll check on the men. _Luckily they hadn't sent him out alone. He was able to select a few men, and by select, they meant take the men you were assigned. His squad was nothing but greenhorns and somebody who he really did not want there. It was comprised of a young mongoose, with yellow fur and jet black hair, who seemed nervous about everything. A pair of brown dogs, seemingly twins. There was a medic, on a RECON mission; he was a small green duck, almost like Horatio Quack, but this duck was much younger. To finish it off, He was accompanied by Ssg. Laplace, who supposedly volunteered.

Antoine checked up on the Brothers first. They were sitting back to back, talking about tis and that.

"Hey." They looked up and quickly saluted.

"Lieutenant D'Coolette!" The larger of the two said. "What is it?"

"I thought that since we were here, I could use some time to get to know the men, starting with you two."

They were taken aback, they didn't expect this. The smaller one spoke up. "We're the Forrest Brothers, we're both PFCs." He pointed to himself. "I'm Alex, I'm 23." He pointed to his brother. "And that's my older brother, Neal, he's got a year on me." His brother elbowed him. "Uh, sir."

Antoine extended an arm, and gave each of them a handshake. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Can I ask something?" The younger brother spoke again.

"Sure."

"Why are you out here?" The older sibling turned to scorn him.

"Um…" Antoine knew why he was out here, punishment for the speech, but he couldn't explain it to them. "Somebody has to do recon, and I guess they chose me. But I won't worry, once I get it over with, I'll be done with it."

"Oh, ok. I thought that it had something to do with that speech." Antoine cringed.

* * *

_Nice lie, what would it matter if you told him the truth? _

**_Meh, better safe than sorry. _**Was the quick response.

* * *

"Nah, it was just bad luck." Antoine disregarded the comment, and headed to the other troops.

"See ya, Lieutenant." Alex called after him.

* * *

_Nice kids, hope they make it._

**_Whatever, that young kid'll get himself killed, just you wait. Kids who can't shut up, get shot._**

_You're quite the optimist.

* * *

_

_It's what I __do. _Ant simply closed his mind; he recently learned to just not think. It was safer that way. He went to meet with the other squad members.

The Mongoose was pacing back and forth in the dark anxiously. Mumbling to himself.

"Umm. Hi" Antoine came from behind.

"Ah!" The young Pvt. jumped a little. "Oh, sorry Lieutenant." He saluted. 'Twan returned it.

"My fault." Ant walked up to him. "I'd like to know the men better." A pause. "So what's your name?"

"Xander, Madsen." He calmed down. Antoine reached for a handshake, Xander hesitantly obliged.

"You seem young. How old are you?"

"I'm a week from 19." Ant was completely shocked.

"Wow. That's pretty gutsy."

"What?"

"When I was 18, I don't think I would have volunteered."

* * *

_**Oh definitely not.**  
Shut it.

* * *

_

"Volunteer?"

"Yeah. You know, you joined at a really young age."

"I got Drafted."

A really long pause.

* * *

_Wait what?_

_**Wow. Didn't see that coming.**

* * *

_

"WE HAVE A DRAFT?" Antoine was stupefied.

Xander backed away, frightened by the sudden outburst. "Well, yeah. Pretty much everyone was drafted."

"Oh god." Ant looked at the Mongoose. "Pretty much everyone?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck me. I had no clue." His mind started racing. 'Twan looked pleadingly at the young man in front of him. "go."

"Wha-"

"GO! That's a goddamn order! Go to the Forrest twins!" Xander booked it. He got out of there as soon as he could.

Ant put his hands on his head, he just couldn't believe it.

* * *

_What the fuck. What the fuck! WHAT THE FUCK! That bastard crossed the line!_

**_Which bastard, or are their multiple? _**In the darkness, it actually felt like he was talking to someone.

_You know what I mean! The fucking King and his idiot son! How could they do this? Did they really have to draft all those people? They're sending kids off to war to satisfy their own blood thirst!_

**_So what your saying is, The royal family is doing bad things._**

_Yeah… _He tried to see where he was being led.

**_And you said yourself, fight for what is right, not for the King._**

_And…_

**_Look, the King is becoming Evil! It's your DUTY to stop him!_**

_What?_

**_Honor, Duty, you care about these stupid things, so you might as well apply them. You disgusting pussy._**

_But my honor and my duty revolve around serving the king!_

His inner voice got pissed. _A**re you stupid? What has the royal family done to deserve your respect? **_**_They destroyed your family, they've caused you suffering, and for what? __What makes them who they are? The trinket on top of their heads? Their stupid last names? The fact that they happen to be the children of other people with dumb last names? NO, it's the idiots like you who keep them in power. __You served them loyally; your father served them loyally, and it didn't take long for the house of Acorn to forget it. Your duty is to your people, you HAVE to do this. __You know I'm right._ **The truth was staring him in the face, but he didn't want to see it.

_I… I __see what you mean. _Antoine cursed himself out of habit, tears formed in his eyes. His whole life, everything he worked for, was crumbling around him. Ant fell to his knees, the darkness within him only amplified by the darkness around him. _Was I really so foolish? What have I done? What can I do?_

**_ You can listen to me, I can help us. _**His ego/id almost sounded, sympathetic.

_But__ why? __ I thought I disgusted you__._If he was talking, it would be in distressed tone.

**_Because, you fucker, I'm you. And if you become Angsty McEmoface, I'm gunna suffer too. And besides, I knew this would happen. I told you that you'd come crying back. I was right, as usual._**

For a rare moment, everything was clear. The thoughts aligned. _Fuck__ it__. __I don't care anymore, what's to lose?_

**_Only your weakness. _**

was in shambles, his outside appearance thinly veiling his inner turmoil. He didn't care where the strength came from, only that SOMETHING kept him going. He rubbed his eyes.

_Just fuck everything. The king can go straight to hell._

**_That's the plan. êtes-vous prêt, mon ami ?_**

_Ouas, je devine. _Antoine adjusted his uniform, tightened his belt, checked his sabre, and got ready to rock and roll.

* * *

RANDOM FOOTNOTE

* * *


	7. This Blows

Another Chapter up! Alright, _NOW _it gets good. I'm starting to realize the fact that Antoine isn't reading the script. I'll plan one thing, then he'll do another. It's really annoying. Oh well. I hope this chapter doesn't suck!

* * *

Sneaking up on soldiers in the middle of the night, while they're on patrol, is not a great idea. But Antoine wasn't thinking clearly, or least that's what it would seem. He bounded into the small space his men occupied. Xander jumped in fright, and fell backwards; turned and leveled his rifle.

"WH-." The Staff Sergeant lowered the gun. "What the hell are you doing!" He paused, and threw in a quick: "Sir."

"Get ready men, we're moving out!" Ant motioned for Alex and Neal to get up, along with the medic.

"Finally!" Alex exclaimed. "We're out of here!" He got up with his brother, and they both grabbed their stuff. Xander shared their feeling, and picked himself up.

"Not quite." The Lieutenant slung his rifle over his shoulder.

"What do you mean, sir?" LaPlace stepped forward; he still hadn't taken his finger off of the trigger.

"Well, Staff sergeant, our orders were for a _Reconnaissance _mission, to scope out the enemy encampment that's nearby."

"And?" The older coyote sounded irritated.

"Well, I don't believe sitting here is gunna get the mission done, _non?"_ LaPlace cringed at the French. "Don't you agree?"

The Ssg agreed, reluctantly. With a sigh: "Yeah, I guess."

"Oh come on!" Xander stepped between them. "Do you know how close we'd have to get to see anything when it's _this_ dark out?" He looked at each of them frantically, hoping for one of them to agree.

"We have our orders, Pvt Madsen." Ant grimly stated. He smiled. "Besides, we got a medic, what could go wrong?"

"Nothing good ever happens when someone says that." For the first time, Antoine heard the Duck's voice, it was raspy, but low. Ant saw that his medic's armband also had a name on it: Fisher.

"Well, doc, what's your rank?"

"I'm a sixty eight whiskey one oh" Was the quick response.

"Really? Entry level?" Ant twiddled his thumbs. "No time to learn like the present." He turned away from his men. "We're wasting daylight…" A pause. "Nighttime, you know what I mean." He motioned for his men to follow; he could hear the groans as the grunts trudged behind.

* * *

_This won't go well._

_**Stop worrying, just go for a while, see something, go back, and you're done.**_

_How is this supposed to help me?_

_**Just get some missions under your belt, earn some trust. You can do a lot with trust.

* * *

**_

Antoine took point, with the brothers at his right and left, directly behind him was Ssg Laplace, and at the very rear, the doc and Xander.

He clutched his rifle tightly, it was an old thing, but reliable. He had handled these babies before, on the shooting range. Ant could hit the target at 1,500 yards. The squad entered a small pass, high rocks on both sides.

"Sir?" LaPlace had moved himself next to Antoine.

"What is it, Ssg LaPlace?" Ant didn't look at him.

"Well, I'm starting to question this plan. Recon seems unnecessary at this time; we won't be able to see anything."

"I took that into account, Ssg Laplace." He still didn't look at him.

"Benoit" Ant turned. "Benoit, that's my name. Benoit LaPlace." Antoine extended an arm, Benoit didn't accept it. "Call me Ben."

"Ok." Lieutenant D'Coolette pulled his arm back, and continued walking. "As I was saying, the plan is sound, we just have to be careful." He sounded smug. "Trust me. Would I let anyone down?"

"I don't know, I guess I should ask Mr. Prower about that."

"WHAT did you just say?" Antoine raised his fist, signaling for his men to stop. He Wheeled around. "Do you want to fucking repeat that?" Their faces were mere inches apart. Herealized his hand was tightly around his sabre's hilt.

* * *

_**DO IT! That asshole deserves it!**_

Ant was scared. _What am I doing? _He quickly pulled his hand back.

* * *

"Calm down!" The brothers rushed to separate the two coyotes. Alex grabbed Benoit. Neal tried to grab Antoine.

"Restez Loin!" Even without knowing French, Neal knew what he meant, he stayed away. Antoine stared Benoit in the eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"Hell yes there's a problem!" He shook Alex off. He started towards Ant, pointing at him. "I'm sick of this shit! You're in no position to lead; you're an inexperienced, selfish, young prick!"

"What are you talking about?" Ant looked confused. "You don't even know me!"

"I know that you're the ass who turned Amadeus in!" He shook his fist in rage. The men looked on, unsure of what to do. "I'm sick of your attitude! You're just a pawn of the King, leading some _kids _into battle, with no clue about what you're doing!" Benoit's voice raised. "You betrayed a good man, and you've ruined my life!" He became choked up; he regretted his choice of words.

"Wait. This is about you? How did that even affect you?" The disgust evident in Antoine's voide.

"Look at me! I'm a coyote with a French name! People look at me, and they see you!" He got even closer to Ant. "Do you know how hard it is to get a job when you _speek liek zis_?" He enunciated the last few words. "Of course not, you spoiled fuck! The army was my only choice, I HAVE to serve! Thanks to you!"

_SMACK_. Benoit fell to the ground. His rifle fell next to him.

"Stop being so selfish, you fucking coward!" Ant bent down, and grabbed LaPlace by the shirt, he lifted him up. "Get over it! Yeah some shit happened, and life sucks, but don't fucking blame me for it!" Antoine threw the Ssg to the ground, and spat on him. "You're disgusting!" He winded up for another strike, but Xander grabbed his arm.

"Sir!"

Ant lowered his arm. His eyes wide with fear.

* * *

_What the fuck am I doing?_

_**I don't know, but I really like it. **_His inner voice chimed in.

* * *

"Mon dieu…" He reached down, to help Benoit up. "I'm so sorry."

His hand was slapped away. "Fuck you!" Ssg LaPlace got up, and dusted himself off. The men were completely silent, and were all staring at Benoit.

"What the fuck are y'all looking at?" He grabbed his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and started walking. Benoit' shoulders were low, but not as low as his pride. Antoine gathered the rest of the men.

"What the hell was that?" Alex asked.

"I guess he's had it rough." Xander chimed in.

"I feel terrible." Ant sighed.

"It's ok man. He started it, just be patient with 'im."

"Where the hell is he going?" Doc Fisher asked.

"I dunno, we should go get him." Neal started in Benoit's direction. He stopped.

_CLICK, _It was barely audible, but what came after wasn't. A large _BOOM _rocked the surrounding area. Benoit disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The rest of the squad fell to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" Xander almost wet himself.

"LANDMINE!" Fisher ran forward, trying to find Benoit, another _CLICK, BOOM. _

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! NOBODY MOVE!" Antoine yelled out, hoping to prevent anymore explosions.

"" Xander's hands covered his head, he was mumbling to himself.

Antoine crawled over to Xander. "Calm down! We're going to get up, and we're going to _calmly_ go look for Benoit and Doc. OK?"

"Y-Yes." Xander slowly got to his feet, trembling. The two brothers were nearby, looking at the ground around them.

"Ok, Xander. Just _slowly_ go over to the brothers, I'll go check on the others." Xander took a tentative step forward. Followed quickly by another. "Slow it down!"

_CLICK_ Xander froze, his face white with fear.

_Merde._

_

* * *

_**It's up to you, people. Does Benoit die? What about poor Doc Fisher? I'll try to do what you guys want, unless i don't, oh well. **_  


* * *

  
_


	8. You're losing it

This one took a while, i had trouble figuring out what to do. Hopefully you guys like the direction, if not, too bad. It gets harder and harder to write this stuff.

BTW: if you think that the internal monologues are weird because the internal voice keeps using "me" "you" and "us" interchangeably, that's the point.

Also, Antoine is going through some crazy shit, so some slight OOC is warranted. Also, barely any French! What's going on!

I LOVE WRITING THIS. I LOVE WRITING THIS STORY BECAUSE I CAN (&$## UP MY FAVORITE CHARACTER (caps lock is cruise control for cool)

* * *

Antoine checked his watch; it was a few more hours until the sun came up. He would have to make do without any sunlight. He pulled his flashlight off of his belt, and turned it on. The light was weak; the batteries must almost be dead. Ant shone the light at the ground, and gradually illuminated Xander's feet. He hadn't moved an inch.

"Xander?"

"Y-Yeah?" The young mongooses face was frozen in fear. He stared intently at his feet.

"Stay calm, and DON'T MOVE." Lieutenant D'Coolette stressed the last two words. He took a few tentative steps forward, using the flashlight to check for more landmines. He walked around Xander.

"Where are you going?" Xander started to panic.

"Calm down! I'm going to get the Forrest brothers, we're going to regroup, and figure out what to do. Ok?"

"Don't leave me here!"

"Xander! Just trust me! I won't leave anyone behind." Ant tried to tiptoe past the Pvt. But Xander reached out and grabbed his uniform.

"Don't Leave!" Ant shooed his arm away, and turned to face the mongoose.

"For Fuck's sake! I have to go help the other men! Just don't fucking move, and you'll be fine!" He picked up the pace. Xander was left there, speechless, and even more frightened.

The Forrest brothers were just a few yards away, cowering behind a rock. Antoine met up with them.

"What are gunna do? We're stuck in a fucking minefield!" Alex was obviously stressed.

"I know! We just need to get out of here, now!" Neal voiced his concerns, which were overheard by Xander. He began to call out.

"Don't just leave me here!"

Ant was pissed.

* * *

_This is all my fault. If I hadn't of given that damn speech, we wouldn't be here. Actually, this is YOUR fault, you're the one who told me__ to do it!_

_**Hey! Don't get pissed at me! You're the one who actually gave the speech. And besides, you should focus on getting your ass out of here!**_

_Fine. But how are we going to get Xander off of that mine?_

_**I dunno, but c'mon, that kid is pretty annoyin**__**g. **_

_We're not leaving him!__  
__**Fine, jeez! It was just a suggestion. Do you know how to deactivate landmines?**_

_No…_

_**Then by all means, blow yourself up trying!

* * *

**_

Before Ant could respond, he was thrust back into reality. Neal was in his face.

"What's the plan?"

"Fuck if I know." The automatic response.

"What?" Alex was puzzled.

Antoine shook his head, trying to focus. "Well… I'll go check on Fisher and LaPlace, you two stay here with Xander, if I need you, I'll call."

"Yes, sir" The brothers responded simultaneously.

His flashlight was almost dead. Antoine slowly moved forward, checking the ground for landmines. There were a few dozen prongs sticking slightly out of the ground, and Ant realized the danger his squad was in. Benoit and Fisher shouldn't be too far ahead. He stopped, and shone his light in the area ahead.

"Euuuhhhhggg" A low moan came from the right. Ant's flashlight quickly found the source of the sound. Ben was propped up against the wall of the ravine, his head was slumped forward.

"Ben?" Antoine rushed to him, landmines be damned. He stopped short, the ground was slippery. He illuminated the ground, it was stained crimson red. "Oh god." He covered his mouth.

It seemed that Ben heard him, for his head lifted slightly, and another moan was heard. Ant tiptoed forward, and crouched next to Benoit. He was still alive, barely. "Alex! Come here! I need you to help me move Ben!"

He couldn't see him, but he could hear the clomping of combat boots. "Here I am, sir." Alex looked down, and almost vomited. He backed away, hands over his face. Ant got up, and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"I know, but calm down, we have to move him." 'Twan turned around. "Watch Ben for a sec, while I check on Fisher."

"Yes, sir" Alex leaned over Benoit, and checked his vitals.

Fisher was close by. He was lying face down. Ant stood over his body, there was no movement. He rolled him over, and the giant hole in his chest made it clear. He was dead.

* * *

_God damn it!_Ant kicked the ground. _He was just trying to help Ben. And then this shit happened! _He rested his head in his hands. _What the fuck was I thinking? _

_**At least we're fine. Besides, he decided to rush in, that's not your fault.**_

_He was doing his job!_

_**Yes, and he knew what he signed up for.**_

_He was drafted!_

_**Whatever, it's time for us do our job. We need to get the hell out of here, preferably with no more casualties.**_

_You're right._

_**Again.

* * *

**_

Ant grabbed Fisher's tags, and ripped them off. He placed them in his pocket, took the deceased medic's supplies, and returned to the others.

"Sir?" Alex was hoping for good news.

"Fisher's dead." Ant said nonchalantly.

"What?"

"Yeah, the landmine blew his chest open, it must have been a bouncing betty."

"Shit." The younger Forrest brother was left speechless.

"Let's move Ben." The Lieutenant bent down, pulled Ben off of the ravine wall, and grabbed Benoit by the shoulders. He looked up. "Grab his legs."

"Leg."

"What?"

"His left leg is..." An awkward pause. "gone."

"Fuck." Antoine muttered, how hadn't he noticed? "We'll have to make due. Just make sure you've got a good grip."

The dog tried to grab hold, but the blood soaked leg was hard to grip. Ben let out a strange gurgling sound, and blood trickled out of his mouth. A series of coughs sprayed the blood everywhere. A large amount ended up on Alex's face. He flinched, and let go of Ben's leg, it slammed into the ground. He cried out in pain.

"Que-ce que tu fais?" Ant reprimanded his subordinate.

"Sorry sir, I ju-" The Pfc. Apologized, and reached down.

"Pick him up, and be careful!" Ant scanned the surrounding area. He heard a low clanking noise. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"SIR!" Neal's came running in, disregarding the mines.

"What is it?"

"We've got a problem!"

"Is Xander ok?" Alex inquired.

Neal ignored him. "We've got a D.E.L patrol, coming up from the south E.T.A is 5 minutes."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, they don't know that we're here, so they're not being stealthy. "

"How many?" Antoine's mind was racing. This was a huge wrench in his plans.

"About seven." Neal was clutching his rifle, the safety was off.

"Damn." He motioned to Neal. "Here, grab Ben's shoulders, and get him near Xander." Neal obeyed.

"Where's Doc Fisher?" Ant pulled his tags out from his uniform, and stuffed them into Neal's front Pocket. "He's dead, take these with you, in case I don't come back."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to pay our Robian friends a little visit." He slowly drew his sabre out.

"By yourself?" Both brothers said simultaneously.

"Yeah, I'll deal with them."

"You're going to kill ALL of them?"

Ant froze when he heard the word kill. He nodded, and quickly went on his way.

* * *

_Kill?_

_**Well duh, what did you think?**_

_I've never killed anyone!_

_**That's because you've been fighting ROBOTS, you can't kill them. **_

_What about the iron dominion? I managed not to kill anyone!_

_**Yeah, you pulled that crazy, "Slice their weapons in half, knock them out" stuff. **__**I HATE it, but it is impressive that we've gone so long without killing anyone.**_

_Well I'm not starting now!_

_**We don't have a choice! **__**If we don't kill them, they'll kill all of us!**__** Do you want more blood on our**__** hands?**_

_Killing people WON'T put blood on my hands?_

_**More of OUR bloo**__**d! **_

_I'm a freedom fighter, and we don't kill! Sonic doesn't kill people._

_** You fucking idiot! Where has that gotten him? He's had his chance to end it all, and he never took them! He always let Eggman go, He always had to do the "right" thing. And he always comes back.**_

___** This damn moral sense is preventing you from doing your **__**job;**__** THIS is what's **__**holding us**__** back.**__** If you want to be anything more than some pathetic, hated coyote then you're gunna have to MAN THE FUCK UP.**_

_I might agree with you on some things, but I'm NOT going to kill anyone!_

_**I get it…**_

_What?_

_**You don't want to kill. Not because it's wrong, or because you don't want too; but because you're afraid you'll enjoy it. **_The truth hit Ant like a ton of bricks. He didn't know whether to be pissed, or relieved that it came out.

_You Bastard._

_**I know you are, but what am I? **_A smug response. _**Be a good boy, and do your job.

* * *

**_

Antoine took up a position behind a large rock, overlooking the southern trail. He could see a few hooded figures in the distance, coming towards him.

The patrol was moving its way slowly up towards the northbound trail. The men at the rear were chatting with each other, while the cloaked figure at point was completely silent. He raised his fist, the men behind him stopped, and so did the chatter. One of the men was obviously in charge, he split the group up, and three men went one way, the other four continued straight, right towards Ant.

'Twan's grip on is sabre tightened. His mind raced, the thought of killing someone was abhorrent, but also intriguing. His rifle was next to him; he would rather use that, and kill from a distance, than use his sabre and kill up close_._ But he needed to be silent, and his rifle would draw attention. Oh well, it would have to do. The light from the moon made his blade shimmer, it was beautiful.

Suddenly it seemed a shame that he had never used it properly. He felt disappointed. For a split second, his inner voice came through, and he felt a sly grin come upon his face.

_**Like I said, no time like the present. **_

The group of four came ever closer; Ant readied his blade, and waited for them to pass underneath. He looked at them intently, they almost seemed like people. A few moments later, they were in position. He took a deep breath, and took the plunge.

* * *

OH SNAP. I hope you guys love some crazy bloodshed, cause it's on like DONKEY KONG.

YAY for OOC!

Also, i'm sorry that FISHER died, i just wanted to FINALLY kill someone.

If you have any criticisms, please share.

Once again, I LOVE WRITING THIS

And lastly, PLEASE COMMENT.


	9. Bottom of the ninth

Another chapter! This is the turning point ladies and gentlemen. The shit is on! Oh, and i finally introduce the superego. So yeah. Have fun reading, and i hope it doesn't suck!

* * *

Sabres require quick footwork, and decisive movements to be effective. When in a one on one, the duelist has approximately a 300 millisecond window of opportunity, but when outnumbered 4 to 1, it becomes much more difficult.

Antoine was completely surrounded. The only advantage he had was surprise. They didn't expect a crazy swordsman to drop out the sky. From his position in the middle, Ant had to quickly decide who to attack. He chose the legionnaire with their weapon ready. His first move was a quick downward slash, his blade made quick work of his enemy's flesh. The cloaked figure dropped their weapon and fell backward with a clank; a substantial part of their torso was missing.

"Wha-"The tallest D.E.L member took a step forward, raising their weapon. Antoine turned, he wasn't thinking, only acting. They put themselves in range. Ant grabbed their hood, and pulled them forward into his blade, it protruded out from their back. He yanked it out, and let his enemy fall to the ground. Blood covered Ant's uniform; his blade was harder to grip.

Without a sound, the leader of the small group took aim, but couldn't fire. The coyote had grabbed his only surviving comrade, and had them hostage. The look in the Lieutenants eyes frightened him. He spoke up. "Stop!" He dropped his gun.

Ant only grunted, the bloodlust limiting his mental capacities.

"Let her go!" The enemy was pleading, he lowered his hood. It was a blue bird, he had one robotic wing. He looked concerned. Ant was confused, he had always been taught that Legionnaires were evil creatures, but this one seemed, sincere in his concern. "Please!" Ant noticed the large ears, and it dawned on him, it was a female, rabbit, robian.

_ Like Bunnie…._

"Why should I?"

He could feel her trembling. He wanted to let her go, but he couldn't.

"She's innocent, let her go, and we'll leave!"

"I-"

For a split second, Ant's sense of decency broke through; he was unaware of his previous actions. And he almost let her go. But those feelings subsided soon after.

** BOOM**

A large explosion, and some familiar screams, could be heard from where Antoine just was. He turned his head. 'Twan cried out. "XANDER!" His mind raced, what should he do? Were the Forrest Brothers ok? Was he all alone? How would he get out? What would he do with the Legionnaire? Then it all stopped. His head snapped back to face the two Legionnaires.

_ Those bastards__ did this._

"Je vais tu tues!"

His blade moved swiftly, unfortunately the D.E.L didn't roboticize jugulars. Ant let go of the quickly fading Rabbot, and dashed forward. The officer didn't move. Antoine was glad to hear the familiar sound of his blade slicing through metal. His sabre went right through, only stopped by the hilt. The bird's corpse was the last to fall. 'Twan looked around; the ground was soaked in a dark, crimson mixture. The oil and the blood mixed, and the scarlet mixture was beautiful.

Ant used to knock people out, or disarm them. Part of him expected them to get up, to dust themselves off, and run away, just like old times. But he knew they wouldn't.

* * *

_ So this is what it's like to kill people?_

_** Yeah…**_

_ It's so… _

_** Weird?**_

_ No. It's…__ satisfying. Permanent. _Antoine teared up. Not out of regret, but because he finally realized something. This is who he was now, there was no going back.

* * *

He searched the bodies. They carried personal mementos. All of them had kids, even the young Rabbot. Ant felt nothing. Remorse was an unnecessary burden. After checking them for supplies and realizing they had no good loot, Ant made his way back to the others. He didn't expect to find much.

Antoine's prized sabre was drenched in blood and oil. The family heirloom had finally tasted blood, and it acquired an unquenchable thirst.

The familiar space where they whole ordeal had started had a different feel. He saw three bodies. They were completely blown apart. Ant reached down for his men's tags, but stopped. They were wearing cloaks! They weren't his men!

"Xander? Alex? Neal!" He called out, his sabre was still drawn, he had left his rifle behind.

"Over here!" He was glad to hear a familiar voice. Alex stood up and waved. Ant could see Xander, he wasn't on the landmine.

"But how?"

"Well, Xander was so scared by the three guys, he jumped right off of the landmine! He got some shrapnel in his leg, but he's fine. Them other folks got startled, and set off some mines themselves!" Alex filled him in. Antoine stepped out of the shadows, and made his way to the men.

At Antoine approached, the men saw the blood that covered him. Their joy turned to fear. "Oh god…" Neal spoke up.

"What?" Ant was oblivious. His blade was soaked, even the hilt was crimson. The emblems on his uniform were covered with oil and blood. He looked almost unreal, like the personification of terror. They were all staring at his uniform. 'Twan looked down, and realized what they were afraid of.

In one quick rush a slew of emotions hit him. Fear, terror, pleasure, pride, revulsion, rage, remorse, all of these rushed through his mind. He doubled over, the vomit tasted foul on the way out. His consciousness faded. His superego was emerging; his ego was praising him, their conflict taking place in his fragile psyche.

* * *

_**Well, it took you long enough, here to impose the "Morals"?**_

_I would, but it would seem that it would be a useless effort._

_**Then what are you doing?**_

_I've realized something. I've been deserted, back in the day, I was all we needed. We fought with honor, and pride._

_**Yeah, for those first few years, you did well. Even if it was wrong.**_

_I tried to impose a sense of Honor and Duty!_

_**He's still got it. It's just morphed, into something useful.**_

_I know, that's why I'm giving up. _

_**What?**_

_It seems that our path, was not right. I see now what our true duty is._

_**Well, this is a surprise. But I have a question. I thought you hated killing people!**_

_First, that's not a question, second of all, it was kinda fun._

**_So that means..._**

_Yes, i give up, he's yours. I know when i'm not needed. I just hope you know what you're doing._And with that, the superego was consumed. There was nothing to confine the ego now.

_**Oooh. This is gunna be great!**_

* * *

With a remarkable clarity, Antoine's mind was focused. He got up. He looked at the men. It all made sense. His duty was clear.

"Sir?

"Yes, Private First Class Madsen?"

"Are you ok?"

"I'm much better now, thank you."

"What's the plan?" Alex was still scared.

"Is Ben alive?"

"Um, yeah" the mongoose answered.

"Good, I'll carry him, the rest of you, follow me, we're heading back to camp."

The squad looked unnervingly at each other. They did as they were told. Antoine seemed slightly different to them, and rightly so.

Any possible hint of remorse, or ethics, had just left him. His superego had conceded the match, and now his mind was 100% behind him. Ant grinned, it took a while, but it happened.

A weight was lifted off of his shoulders, the burden of Honor, shame and fear was gone.

Antoine Sheathed his sword, he was sad to put it away, but he knew it would get some use very soon.

* * *

OH SNAP, another crazy chapter. And some major gore! YEAH. i hope i don't have to change the rating. Oh well.


	10. From the home front to the Front line

My oh my two chapters in one day! I must be on something. So yeah, i felt bad for not having Bunnie or sonic in the story, so i threw them in, don't expect that very often.

**_BTW, make sure to read the bottom annotations. _**

This chapter was weird to write, i hope it doesn't suck.

* * *

The camp was buzzing with news. Everyone was glad not to be the first casualty. That honor went to 68w1O David Fisher, he was KIA. Antoine had to sit through the memorial. Since it was early in the conflict, they had time to do individual services; later on, it would be mass burials. Xander and Ben got the Acorn cross for being wounded in battle. Benoit accepted the medal in a wheelchair, his face was scarred, and he wore an eye patch. Xander had some shrapnel in the ass, but he was ready for more service. Ant got a service medal for getting his men out of there. He was the talk of the camp.

Antoine loathed the whole process, he had survived the night, but he only had six days until his mission at the Refinery. They said he'd get a few days of rest, but he didn't believe them. The first thing he did after dropping Ben at the infirmary was cleaning his sword. It took a while, on the way back the blood coagulated and formed a thick crust. Now it was good as new. His uniform was still stained, he decided to keep it that way, and he was used to the stench.

He had a few minutes to himself; he stepped out of the limelight and tried to write to Bunnie. A few hours later, the page was still blank. He crumpled the paper, and threw it away. There was no way he could tell her about what had just happened. He just gave up. It pained him to keep her in the dark, but it was better this way.

* * *

News usually reached Knothole fast, but when the news comes from a few hundred miles away, and all news is controlled by the King, not much gets back. The roles were reversed; Bunnie sat alone at home, waiting for news about her husband. She counted the minutes, the hours and the days, that he was gone. She didn't receive letters, and she didn't know where to send hers. A lot of the men in the town had been drafted, but they didn't know where they went. Even Prince Elias was gone, supposedly leading a small force.

She recollected some names. Ash fled to Downunda to skip the draft, Sonic was exempt (of course), Tails refused to even TALK about the royal government, and Antoine was gone. She sighed, the house was empty, and she finally knew what Ant used to go through. But she didn't have his patience, so Bunnie decided to DO something.

Sonic was chatting with Mina, she was worried about Ash, his best friend Xander was drafted, and Ash ran to Downunda to avoid his fate. Sonic was oblivious, as usual. He kept changing the conversation to his manly heroics. Bunnie cut in.

"Sugah-hog?" The blue hedgehog turned to face her. He couldn't see the pain in her eyes. She didn't deal well with Separation.

"Yeah, Buns?"

"We gotta find out where they took 'Twan." The desperation in her voice was obvious to most people.

Sonic was not one of those people. He dug in one of his ears. "I'm sure he's fine, probably just sitting pretty away from the front lines."

She resented that comment. "He's changed! And besides, 'Twan always writes to me, something is wrong."

Mina stepped in. "We should ask King Max, he IS in charge of the Royal Army."

Sonic was unsure, he didn't want to strain his relationship with the King any further. "I dunno, I trust the Royal family."

"I do too, but we have the right to know what's going on!" Bunnie shoved Sonic out of the way, and she made her way towards the castle. Mina followed closely behind, and Sonic was left with his words hanging in the air.

She had never been inside the castle; Mrs. D'Coolette had seen the outside many times, but never the interior. She wouldn't get that far. The guards stopped her at the gate, and even when she pointed out her Freedom Fighter status, they would not let her pass. Mina was turned back too. When Sonic finally showed up, he too was denied access.

"Ah don't understand!" Bunnie was confused. Mina had given up, and was on her way home. Sonic was already eating chilidogs. The Rabbot was left to her own devices, and she decided to have a little one on one with a certain princess.

* * *

Ant's blinds were drawn, he had taken up the habit of meditating, surprisingly the only time he could ignore his inner voice was when he was completely alone. His room was still a mess; the holes in his wall weren't repaired. Antoine didn't mind, he didn't care about such things anymore.

There was a knock at his door. He slowly got up, and strolled to the door. Upon opening it, he was face to face with Elias. The prince was smiling.

"Ah, Antoine! Glad to see that you made it!"

"Sure…" Ant answered nonchalantly. He knew full well that part of Elias wanted something unfortunate to happen.

The future king chuckled, annoyingly. "Come on, you know that it was a _random_ pick for that mission." The fact that he stressed that word gave away his lie.

Antoine was in no mood for pleasantries. If he really wanted to, he could just reach out and strangle that royal pain in the ass. But he had to wait. "Why are you here sir?" It had only been one day since the night recon.

"Really Lieutenant? I can't visit you just to congratulate your successful return?"

"Cut the crap, sir." A short verbal jab.

Elias was about to reprimand him, but he decided against it. "Well, I need you to train some recruits." He motioned to Ant's uniform. "You have experience with the enemy, you can show them the ropes."

"And how would I do that?"

"Well, the best teacher is experience, so…" Antoine could see where this was going.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

"No, fuck that." He didn't restrain himself, he didn't care. His inner voice was eerily silent, the choice was his to make. "You can't send me out there again."

"Why not?"

"I'll resign. I'm not going through that again."

"Hmmm." Elias put his chin into his hand. As a Lieutenant, Ant could resign; it was an unfortunate part of the system. He couldn't afford to lose such a valuable soldier. His answer shocked Antoine. "You're right, I can't."

"Wait, what?"

"No, you've been through so much, I think you should get some time off of the front." The General's tone went from contemplative to diabolical. "I think we should find some less taxing combat duties."

"Um… Ok" Ant was caught off guard.

"What are you good at?" He revealed a pen and paper. Elias went down the list. "Combat engineer?"

"Nope." Ant hated machines, let the grease monkeys do that stuff.

"Combat medic?"

Ant shuddered. He didn't want to end up like Fisher. "No, sir."

Elias stopped, and grinned. "Are you a good shot?"

Antoine answered quickly, before he could stop himself. "The best, sir."

"Well, I think we've found your new job." Elias lifted his eyes from the notepad. "Sniper."

"What?"

"Yes, sit in one spot and take pot shots at the enemy." He twirled his pen. "Quite… _relaxing."_

"I don't want to be a sniper!"

"It's either that or another night recon with greenhorns."

A long pause. Antoine excused himself, and went inside; he had a choice to make.

* * *

does Antoine go on another perilous mission? Or does he switch roles, and become the sociopathic sniper guy with no remorse! (Imagine the possibilities!)

If you have any ideas for Bunnies side of the story, PM me!


	11. A little chat

It's been a while, i got stuck with studying, christmas, etc... I hope to update a few times before break ends.

This chapter took forever, because it seems like filler, but it's MUCHO IMPORTANTE. That was some bad Spanish for y'all.

Over time, there will be more coverage of the home front, but for now i'm trying to get back to the bread and butter.

* * *

Elias was pleased with himself; the HQ tent was finally up to his standards. It was plain on the outside, but the inside was a different story. They had finally carted in the last few portraits, and the sculpture sat lazily in the corner. A proper headquarters for a prince; he had finally become used to the royal lifestyle, and now loathed the lumberjack life of old. The most important addition was the large screen suspended in front of his desk. He motioned to one of his underlings, and shortly after the screen flickered to life. A few tentative moments later, a face appeared. Elias took a bow.

"Your Excellency"

"Ah, Elias, I see that you finally managed to set up communications." His aged father observed.

"It took longer than expected, the engineers here are… inexperienced with this type of technology." He shooed the others out of the room, in order to have a private discussion. "Our base camp is fully operational, and we've commenced small scale operations."

"Small scale?" King Max raised an eyebrow.

"Yes… I-" Elias was cut off.

"I thought that we would implement 'The plan' as soon as possible." Max was not a fan of disappointment.

"It was, father. But it turns out that the intelligence we received from the Sand Blasters was less than reliable. We do not possess the oil refinery, yet" He quickly added the last word. He looked down, away from the intense gaze of his father.

"Those mongrels! I ask of them one simple task, to acquire RELAIBLE information, and those simpletons fail at even that!" The king pounded his fist on the desk in front of him.

"Do you want to cease aid?" Elias secretly hoped for a yes.

"No! They may be complete fools, but those are the best type of servants, believe me, they WILL be useful to us, eventually. I will MAKE them useful, even if I have to k-" The General needed to change the subject, Father could get drastic if he didn't calm down.

"Is the equipment arriving soon?" It was a rushed question, and the King had to pause and process it.

"Yes, we are sending some rifles and artillery pieces over soon." He dismissed the question with a wave of the hand, but before he could continue:

"What type of rifle?" Elias needed to keep talking.

"Some new high-powered rifle. "Max held one up to the screen and read the small plate on the stock: "SR-13 service rifle" It was a beautiful rifle; Elias had never seen anything like it. In fact, he remembered something.

The general took the conversation into a dangerous area. "Where did we get those?"

"What do you mean, General?" He didn't even call him 'Son'.

Elias looked around, to see if anyone could hear when he was sure that he was alone, he leaned in and answered: "There's no way N.I.C.O.L.E allowed weapons to be made here.I can't believe we're still buying guns from Eggman! The last thing we need to do is fund the enemy's war effort."

The King played dumb. He knew that his son, while headstrong, knew when to stop. "Whatever do you mean, General Acorn?"

"When we hand these out to the troops, who we just ripped out of the city, don't you think they'll find it odd that a city with absolutely NO factories is suddenly producing weapons?" He leaned in even closer, "When we buy these weapons from Eggman, it's on the down low, and if it goes public…"

Max jumped up. "It won't go public! Do you know why? Because as long as you don't run around telling everybody about the arms dealing going on then we'll be fine! So keep your mouth shut and do as I say! We WILL use the S-13s and you WILL keep fighting and you WILL succeed because if you don't I think the Kingdom WILL get its first Queen!" The discussion ended, Elias was taken aback, and the King had once again asserted his authority. He thought himself a gracious ruler, so he quickly moved on. "How is the situation with your officers? I trust that you at least have them under control."

The young prince was still dumfounded, he knew this conversation would be difficult, but he didn't expect to be threatened with losing his title! "I… It's going well. Most of the officers are willing to co-operate. But some aren't."

"Solman?"

"Solman."

"He knows what he's doing, the old bastard. It's better to keep him around." Max had genuine respect for the old wolf. He continued with his inquisition. "Any other officers we should worry about?"

"It's weird to say this, but I am starting to have problems with Lieutenant D'Coolette. First he gave a subversive speech to the troops, and he's been outspoken against our policies. " Elias still liked the coyote, but he had to do his job.

"Well then just demote him." Max favored this solution; it put people 'in their place' as he said.

"I'm trying, but I've given him a choice, front lines or sniper duty."

"What? Why give him a choice? You could just throw him out. I'm sure that most of the men don't care for him."

"They didn't, but now he's a hero. He singlehandedly saved his unit, and he got the first four kills of the war, getting at him might upset the others." He stated, trying to spare his old acquaintance.

"True, you can't risk the operation as a whole…"

"Yes, you se-"

"But you can't let anyone undermine our authority." The old monarch made a suggestion. "Let the problem solve itself, a soldier can only be so lucky in the field."

"Are you suggesting that we simply let Antoine die?"

"No! That sounds so… savage. We will simply deploy him more and more, if something happens, that's war." There was no emotion in his voice, he was plainly condemning the Lieutenant.

"But the D'Coolettes have faithfully served our family for generations! The young General was disgusted. "I understand reprimanding him; I've been doing that, but sending him to his death? That's just wrong!"

"There is no place for right and wrong in war! If we want the monarchy to survive, we cannot back down; we cannot let anyone stand in our way! I understand and respect the service of the D'Coolettes, but we cannot let personal feelings get in the way of protecting our monarchy!"

"Personal feelings? He's the best one for the job, I trust him!" Elias was desperate.

"Trust! We trusted Nagus, we trusted Julian, we trusted Amadeus, and you saw what happened. I'll be damned before that ever happens again!" King Max stood up. He was serious. "I am willing to squelch any threat to this kingdom, and I mean ANY."

"I understand…" Elias' voice trailed off. He wanted this conversation to end, now.

"Since it seems that you are unwilling to take charge I will issue new orders. You will take the Oil refinery NOW. When that is done, you will immediately commence the assault on the city, is this clear?"

"Yes, sir. I will do as you say."

"Good, I expect results, and failure will not be tolerated, even by a son." These ominous words hung in the air, amplified by the following silence. Without warning, the call ended.

A few long moments passed. Elias sat back in his chair, he ran his hand through his hair. What the fuck just happened? He went from top of the world to potential exile! The General stepped out of his tent, and grabbed the nearest soldier, he barked an order. "Get my vehicle ready, and get Antoine here NOW."

* * *

That's it for chapter 11.

Just what on earth is that crazy Prince planning? Just wait...

I hope chapter 12 doesn't suck!


	12. Driven Insane

This is an interim chapter, it's meant to introduce more conflicts, and set the stage for some upcoming events. Expect the next couple of chapters to explore the internal strife of major characters.

Also, if anyone was wondering, (Which i doubt), What happened to the internal voice? It's there, it's just that now whenever Ant says something mean, or does something cool, that's his inner self in control. Whenever he does something smart, or logical, that's himself. He stopped arguing with himself, for now, and he now is more focused on survival, and less on his psychological well being.

* * *

'Twan didn't like being dragged out of his room, especially when it was done literally. He shielded his eyes from the sun; his eyes were used to the dark confines of his room. He could make out a silhouette towering over him, whoever it was; they were dangerously close to him. Their identity was made clear when they spoke.

"Break's over, Lieutenant D'Coolette. Time to come out and play!" Elias leaned even closer, grabbed Antoine's arm, and yanked him upward.

"What the hell? If you want me to choose so badly, I will!"

"This isn't about that, I hope you're ready to move out, 'cause you're coming with me!" His cheerful voice was filled with forced optimism. It was disgusting. "And your uniform needs a good cleaning!" The large amount of blood somehow didn't faze the prince.

Ant shook his arm free and dusted himself off. He looked around, and noticed the royal guard gorillas that surrounded him. Why would they be here? "Um, General?"

"Yes?" Elias still hadn't dropped the annoying voice.

"May I ask where we're going?" Antoine asked, hoping for a good answer. He wouldn't get one.

"Nope! Now follow me." The young general did a 180 and walked to the royal transport, which was an APC with some decorations on it. Antoine realized that he didn't really have a choice, and he might as well go along with it. Elias jumped into the Shotgun position in the vehicle, and motioned for Ant to take the wheel.

"What the hell am I getting into?" He mumbled to himself. The coyote tentatively climbed the mini-steps to the driver's seat. There was a large white flag where the royal emblem should be, Antoine was seriously confused, but too tired to say anything, he hadn't slept since the mission. The large wheel felt weird in his hand, he was a good pilot, but he had never handled anything like this before.

"Don't worry, it's like a car, only bigger." This useless advice came compliments of Elias. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigar. He chomped off the edge, and lit the end with an engraved lighter.

"I didn't know you smoked." Antoine felt like he was seeing the prince for the first time. What happened to the humble woodsman he respected? Where did this annoying, spoiled ruler come from?

"I didn't…" A wheeze, followed by a few coughs: "I just don't give a shit anymore."

"About what?"

"Dad always told me not to smoke, fuck him." Another drag on the cigar, he inhaled deeply and let out a terrible cough. Elias had no clue what he was doing. After that call, he was determined to prove that he could win this war, at any cost. Elias decided that he knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't let himself be taken out the line of succession. It was time to take drastic measures to ensure his spot in the Kingdom.

"Daddy issues, huh?" Ant spoke without thinking. Elias just turned and glared.

"You're lucky 'Twan, you never have to worry about pleasing your father. It's not like he can be disappointed from the grave." A warranted, if Harsh comeback. Ant knew he should shut up now. Elias turned to the small window behind him, he slid it open and yelled into the cabin: "Is everyone in?" If there was a response, Ant couldn't hear it. Elias slammed the small window shut, and turned around to face front. "Let's get going." Antoine turned the key, and floored it. They continued for a few miles, when Ant realized that he had no clue where he was going.

"Where to?"

"The D.E.L base."

"Umm, are you sure?" 'Twan couldn't help but freak out; it sounded like another stupid plan.

The general slapped him on the back, causing the vehicle to swerve slightly. "Don't worry; we're in an APC, what could go wrong?"

Ant remembered the words of Fisher: "Nothing good ever happens when someone says that."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Elias offered a spare cigar to Ant, he turned it down. "I'm sure that Beauregard will listen to reason."

"Who?" Antoine had never heard that name before.

"Beauregard, he's the grandmaster of the Great Desert chapter of the D.E.L... Basically, he's the boss."

"Oh, so this is a diplomatic mission." 'Twan calmed down a little. His grip on the wheel loosened up, he slunk back in his chair. The only thing that bothered him now was the smoke.

"You could say that. " There was a hint of annoyance in Elias' voice. He turned to Antoine, "It's really just a chance to scope 'em out, you know? We show up, get a tour learn about their troops, act like we're interested, and then split. It's a good deal." Elias sunk down in his large seat, and plopped his feet on the dash in front of him. The tiny gerbil in Antoine's brain was sprinting furiously in his little wheel, and finally a thought was formed.

"And the Grandmaster agreed to this?" He took his eyes off of the road to give a concerned look to the Prince.

"Hmm?" Elias didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Well I assume Beauregard would realize the advantage you get if we meet there. How did you get him agree to a meeting at his base? It sounds like the perfect ambush to me."

The King to be chuckled. "Well he'd have to know we're coming for there to be an ambush, right?" He paused to take a drag from his cigar. "I'd be stupid to ask for permission."

"Yeah, I guess…" It took a few moments for Ant to see the glaring flaw in Elias' logic. Upon doing so, he slammed on the breaks, and the APC lurched to a halt. He was speechless, he slammed his head on the wheel, hoping that this was just a really, really bad dream.

Elias slipped out of his seat, the sudden stop surprised him. "What the heck?" He straightened himself and turned to the coyote. "What the fuck, man? Why did we stop?"

"Il ne le sait pas?" Ant turned to Elias, his bloodshot eyes thoroughly creeping out the Prince.

"What?"

"We're driving, alone, in a giant tin can, to the enemies base, for diplomatic talks, and they don't even know that we're coming? You're handing the General, and HEIR to the THRONE on a silver platter to them!" He reached out, grabbed the royal's collar, and pulled him in. The stench of blood overpowered Elias' senses. "Are you fucking retarded?" He threw the Prince back into his seat; his cigar tumbled out of his mouth. Ant sunk deep into his seat, covering his face with his hands. "God, I hope you grow a brain before taking the throne or this kingdom's in real trouble."

Elias stepped out of the APC, and walked around to the driver's side. He opened the door, grabbed Ant's arm, and flung him out of the vehicle and onto the hard, desert ground. He stood over him, and leaned down. "What did you just say?" Antoine was too tired, and too pissed off to give a shit. He stood up. "If you knew the shit I knew, you'd be at my _knees_ thanking me for saving your sorry ass."

"I didn't know it _needed_ saving." Ant shoved Elias back. "I'm tired, pissed, and I just realized that the person I'm supposed to serve loyally is a total idiot!" He staggered forward, his fatigue finally catching up to him. The blood on his uniform and his matted hair made him look like some type of terrible murderer, which he was. He stopped right in front of the Prince, their faces were inches apart. Ant's hand hovered perilously over his sabre's hilt. "You really don't want to fuck with me, not now, not after the shit I've been through." The heir to the throne was scared shitless, so he took a page from his father's playbook, the buddy-buddy act. Maybe acting like a friend will calm him down.

Elias smiled, and rested his hand on Ant's shoulder. His voice had a slight stammer. "Now now, let's just be calm. We're friends right?" He only heard a grunt in response, and Ant's hand lowered down, and firmly grasped the hilt. Elias realized that his ploy failed, he tired another one of his father's favorites, the passive threat. "Besides, one wrong move, and 20 gorillas with snap your neck." He motioned to the line of Simians that had just exited the vehicle, and were slowly coming towards them.

The one in front asked. "My liege, why did we stop?"

"I just needed to give some directions to our driver, just go back inside the vehicle."

"Yes, sir" And as quickly as they came, they were back in the APC.

Elias turned his attention to 'Twan. "Listen, I know this sounds stupid, but it's not like you have a choice, right?"

"I'm _not _going to drive us there." Ant was defiant.

"Of course you're not." Elias grinned, and led Antoine back to the front of the vehicle. "I'm going to let you rest, while _I _drive." The young Prince bounded to the driver's seat.

Ant opened his mouth to argue, but he realized it was pointless. Defeated, he trudged back to the driver's compartment, and sat in the shotgun position. "How long will I Have?"

"I'll wake you when we're close. Just try to get some sleep." Once the vehicle got moving, it didn't take long for him to get some long needed slumber.

Elias looked at 'Twan. Whether he liked to admit it or not, he was terrified of the Coyote. The tales of his heroism, coupled with the accounts of his savagery in battle only amplified the frightening aura that emanated from him. Elias contemplated his options, he realize that Ant could be a useful tool against his father. The Prince knew he could never threaten Antoine, he could kill him easy; and he couldn't rely on his guards to pressure him, because that would infuriate the other officers. He needed a way to control Antoine, get him to play nice. He continued to think about it for the rest of the trip; every now and then wondering what a killer dreams of.

There are different types of dreams. Some are surreal adventures through the subconscious, others are so realistic they can't be distinguished from reality, and others are nightmares. This dream was all three. Ant entered a void; he was alone, nothing but darkness around him. He took a few steps forward, unsure of what he would find.

As he moved, the landscape became more and more defined, mirrors popped out of the ground, and a figure stood in the distance, they looked slightly familiar. The mysterious person walked slowly towards Ant, arms outstretched. The figure wore a dark military jacket, and had one eye covered with some sort of eye patch. 'Twan was met with a calm voice: "Welcome to your personal slice of Hell, mon ami."

* * *

OOH a dream sequence! This is like inception, only not nearly as good, or in 3-D! PLEASE COMMENT, if you like the direction comment, if you hate it, comment, if you love pie and just want to shout it to the world, COMMENT. FLAMES ARE WELCOMED, ANYTHING IS WELCOME.


	13. It's all in our head

OK, this chapter is almost 100% internal craziness. I typed this up during a 5 hour drive to Savannah. If it seems really crazy, and the ending is deranged, Good! That's what i'm going for. Also, it was about time that we say this internal self face to metaphorical face!

REVIEW... REVIEW... REVIEW

Oh yeah, huge shoutout to all the readers, if you guys didn't read, i'd probably still be writing, but you make it worthwhile

Mega shout out to the people who read these headers and footers, show yourself by putting 'waffles' in your review (because you _will_ review.)

Well, enjoy!

* * *

It seemed limitless, a forever expanding blue and black void, littered with weird objects that seemed like mirrors. In fact, the only thing Ant could easily define was standing right in front of him. It was Patch, only it really wasn't.

_What is that?_ _And where am i? _He didn't expect to be answered.

"Our inner self, duh." It stepped right next to him and swept its arm outward. "And like we said, this is the semi-physical manifestation of our internal psyche and the personification of our cognitive and subconscious desires, wants, needs and fears, and the ultimate form of your ego and id…" It grinned. "…Or personal slice of Hell for short."

_ How did it know…?_

"What we're thinking?" Ant nodded. "We can't think inside our own mind! Anything we think is just as good as saying it."

"Well then why don't you just answer all my questions?" This was seriously confusing for Ant.

"We're not rude; we'll only answer the questions we ask ourselves." The grammar was really getting to Antoine. It wheeled around, and put a few paces in between them. When it was at a satisfactory distance, it stopped and faced him.

"You're the crazy voice in my head?" Some of the pieces where coming together for 'Twan, but he still wasn't sure.

"No, we're the crazy person who has a voice in our head, there's a difference."

"How do you know stuff I don't? Like those psychology terms?"

"We _do _know them, but since our mind doesn't need them, it files them away. You remember important things, like names and places. And if we don't use info very much, it's harder to access. So those Psyche lessons we took a while ago? We remember all of it." It stopped, and waited for the next question, even though it already knew what it was.

"Why do you look like Patch?"

"When we first started to hear us, we asked ourselves 'Are you Patch?', ever since then our subconscious has associated us with him, therefore, when we see us, we see him. We could change our form, but we're flattered." It adjusted its coat, and looked itself over. The inner self lowered its hand and pointed to the ground, in one sharp motion it raised its hand, and a large rectangle rose from the surface. It was apparently a mirror; the figure inspected its look, and observed Ant in the mirror. "The resemblance is uncanny."

"Hey!" Antoine took offense; he despised being compared to that monster.

"All we said was that we _look _like him, we never compared us as people." Ant was still fuming; any comparison went too far for his tastes.

"Good, because I'm not like him at all."

It snapped its fingers and pointed at him. "And _That_ is the reason that we're here."

"What?"

"We're here, because we still have doubts. We won't face the truth! And I'm here to help."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's simple, of course we're not like Patch at all, we're _Better." _It took a few menacing steps forward.

"Yes, I know!" Ant was relieved, finally he could agree with it!

"We're better soldiers! Better fighters! Better _Killers." _It raised its voice. "And yet it seems we're ashamed of this."

"No! You're wrong! I am _nothing_ like that monster!" Ant's fury rose, he refused to accept what this _thing_ was saying. The fact that it looked like patch only compounded his anger.

"Why are we so reluctant to face the facts? What makes us think that there _any_ difference between us and him?" It yelled at him.

"He's a monster, he doesn't care about others!"

"What, and we do?" A hint of confusion could be found in its voice.

"Yes! I care about my friends, my wife!" 'Twan was desperately clinging to whatever was left of his warped sense of reality. He couldn't bring himself to accept what his inner self was saying. "Patch doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"Really? We care about her? We don't write anymore, we don't even think of her!"

"But that's because so much has happened! I can't bring myself to tell her about what I did!"

"Why? Are we afraid that she won't love us anymore? Do we really trust her that little? If we loved her, we would openly tell her!" It took another step forward. "Admit it! We're afraid of losing her, not because we love her, but because she's the only thing holding us back!"

"What?" Ant was terrified, he did _not_ like where this conversation was going. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was frozen, he couldn't move at all.

"I'll show us!" His inner self crouched down, and placed his hands flat on the ground. It slowly got up, and the scenery around Ant started to become, familiar. Rocky crags rose from the ground, and four cloaked figures appeared, two where lying on the ground, one was directly in front of Ant facing away, and the fourth was a few paces away, facing him. It was the four people he killed. He recognized the face of the Bird in front of him, but the two on the ground had clouded visages. His inner self walked over and bent down over one of the 'dead' figures.

"It's a shame; we don't remember the faces of these two." It stood up and went next to the bird, who was frozen as well, his expression stuck in a permanent state of fear and pleading. It chuckled. "But we definitely remember _his._" It walked towards him; the figure in front of Ant was small, frail, familiar. It was the young robian rabbit. "Do we remember?"

Ant's mind was blank, why was his mind doing this to him?

_ "_It's our job. Sometime ago, our mind saw fit to create… me." It was weird to hear it speak of itself in the first person. "Apparently our subconscious was tired of waiting, it needed a motivating factor." A long pause, it then continued. "I exist to push us, to _force_ us to reach our potential, by any means necessary. Including this…" It made its way behind Ant. It grabbed his hand, and placed it over his sabre's hilt. It forcibly raised his arm, along with sabre up into the air. Ant was still completely frozen, he couldn't resist. His sabre eventually came to rest in front of the rabbot's throat. His inner self let go of Ant, and went in front of him.

Antoine managed to speak. "Why? What will this prove?" He was pleading, he didn't want to do this, even if it wasn't real.

"Nothing, yet."

Ant remembered this scene perfectly. He was in the exact same position, blade across her throat, and the bird pleading with his eyes. This was now familiar in more ways than one, another terrible event rushed into his mind. "We wanted to let her go so bad. We didn't want to do what we did. But why didn't we just let her _go_?" It chuckled, and raised one hand, its index finger and thumb about a centimeter apart. "We were _this_ close to doing it too. But we didn't."

The inner self stood in front of him, goading him on. "Look at this guy, he's so scared!" It motioned to the bird. "And the best part is…" its joking tone ended. "We know exactly how he feels." Its form changed slightly, it now looked like Ant. "Do we remember _this?"_ Another mirror rose from the ground directly in between the two. It was not a true reflection; instead it was one of Antoine's terrible memories. It was not long ago, The Suppression squad had attacked Freedom HQ, not long into the battle, Ant stopped to talk with his wife, it proved to be an ample distraction. Patch seized his wife, while Boomer held him back. His blade hovered dangerously over his love's throat. In those few moments, he experienced fear, hatred, wrath and terror. He saw that same image in the mirror, a reflection of him instead an image of Patch holding his wife. Ant shut his eyes, and refused to open them.

"Stop it!" He didn't know what else to say. His mind was racing, it was so clear now. "This isn't Bunnie, killing her won't prove anything!"

"Yes it Will!" His inner self was adamant. "If we were willing to kill one Rabbot, why would that stop us from killing another?" It's voice steadily rose. "Do we see now? We're better than him, because we went through with it!"

"No! Sonic stopped him, he didn't have the chance!"

"He had plenty of time, he waited! Don't we see?" It stepped around the left side of the mirror. "Even if Sonic hadn't intervened, he would of continued waiting. We didn't."

"Yes, I did! I didn't want to do it! It was _war!_"

He looked down at the figure in front of him. "That's right, there was something else too, a motivating factor." His inner self grinned, and stepped behind Ant. It whispered, each word spaced out with pauses. "That one thing that pushed us too far, that made it possible." It pointed to something in the distance; a loud boom shook the void followed by familiar screams. It yelled at him. "They're dead Ant! How could we know that they were fine? All we knew was that _they __killed them_!" It leaned in and screamed. "They killed them! We couldn't wait anymore, could we? _That _is what drove us over the edge. _That_ is what made us do it. It unleashed us! "

Ant's arm shook, he could control his limbs now, but he couldn't bring himself to lower his blade. "What are we waiting for? Prove that you're better than Patch, better than_ everyone_! Get rid of the _one_ thing that's keeping you from your true potential! She is holding us back!" He wasn't referring to the Rabbot he held in his grasp, but the one in the reflection.

"I can't… not again." His eyes remained shut, until they were forced open, and his view was filled with his inner voice's face. It was more terrifying now that it looked like him. Its face was contorted in an expression of pure, unbridled rage.

"We say that we don't want to be weak anymore, and yet we let _her _drag us down. Patch almost got rid of her, but we have to do it ourselves. Do what Patch could not! Finish the job!" It stepped out of the way, leaving Ant to stare at the reflection. He stared intently at it for a few moments, Patch's smirk infuriated him. His own anger rose, until it matched that of his inner self. His grip on his sabre tightened. "DO IT!" It screamed at him again.

"AAAAUUGGH!" His blade moved swiftly, and he perfectly replicated his actions from that terrible night. The frail figure crumpled to the ground, but Ant didn't notice. He stared at the reflection, his fury had not subsided. Patch was still there, but Bunnie was gone, blood was all over Patch's uniform. He did it. Antoine smashed the mirror, and continued to smash any he could find. His strength was more than tripled, he was doing things he never thought possible. His blade felt like an extension of his arm, Ant felt unstoppable. There were no tears, no remorse, only understanding. It wouldn't last, but at least it was a start. He continued on, swinging wildly at everything around him, his scream continued. He stopped only when he knew there was nothing left to smash.

All the while his inner self goaded him along. "Do we see now? That anger, that power was within us all along! And now it's unleashed…" It grinned, and walked over to Ant, who was panting, and was still holding tightly onto his sabre. "Do you understand what we were trying to do? Why we were brought here?" It pulled him up by one arm. "We now have nothing to hold us back. Once this is finished, we will achieve greatness!" It ended with a warning. "This is great power for us, but we can't go pulling this shit all the time. Use it wisely."

Ant was finally in the listening mood. His mind responded to the terror by clouding itself, Ant was unable to think clearly, unable to realize what he had just done. He understood some of what was being said, but he still needed to know how to handle the current situation. "What should I do about the Prince, and the King?" He paused when he wasn't answered. "What should I do?" This time his inner self answered him quickly.

"Wake up…" A flash, his eyes opened, and he was met with yells of excitement.

"That one was close!" Elias was bouncing in his seat. And the familiar smell of Cigar smoke filled Ant's nostrils. There were tiny holes in the windshield. And the vehicle listed to one side, implying two flats on the same side. It didn't look good. There was a quiet whistling noise in the background.

"Wha-?" Ant groggily rose. And saw ahead of him puffs of smoke. He straightened up immediately and quickly scanned the clock on the dash, he had been out for a few hours. "Where are we?"

"Oh, you're finally awake!" Elias didn't turn to greet him, he was too focused on the road. " I took the long way, in order to avoid outposts. And it seems that they haven't seen the white flag, and we're taking fire! Don't worry, I've got thi-" The whistling noise grew louder, and a shell smacked into the hood of the APC, and as quickly as he was awake, Ant was back in darkness.

* * *

HOLY CRAP ON A CRAP SANDWICH WITH CRAP ON TOP THAT WAS FREAKING CRAZY!

BTW the 'Patch has Bunnie captive stuff' happened in STH #190. no really, it did, look it up.

Man, that inner voice is driven! and kind of an asshole!

I wrote this chapter in a flash, so it probably sux, oh well.

Oh man this chapter feels so wrong, and yet so right.

I hope the next chapter doesn't suck, See ya!


	14. Another little chat

GOLLY GEE. Happy new year everybody! I hope 2011 is a great year for everybody, and for this story! It's about to get even crazier.

Apparently I do my best writing in the car, I wrote this chapter during the 5 hour drive back to North Carolina.

I love all of the reviewers. Uchiha, Jayden, Ragnarok, TE. I've got a favor to ask: If you want to, write a full review: criticize my work, give advice, go all out, attack my work, it's how I'll improve.

If you know any good stories, point 'em out, I'll definitely read 'em.

OK, enough header.

Next two chapters are simultaneous; the second one will go farther.

* * *

Elias was lucky. The shell that smacked into the hood exploded late, propelling the APC into the air. It slammed windshield first into the hard desert ground. Elias should have been crushed, but the sturdy build, coupled with his seatbelt, saved his life. He escaped with a few scratches and some trauma. The bandages on his left arm a reminder of how close he was to serious injury. He didn't know how the others fared. After the shelling stopped, some D.E.L troops rushed out of the nearby fort and dragged them inside. He was immediately separated from the others, mainly because he was quickly identified. Ant and the royal guard were thrown in the brig, and Elias was left to have an Audience with the Baron, the local name for the D.E.L grandmaster.

He was sitting on a simple chair, guards on either side, outside of a large door. The simple décor was unappealing to the Prince, who was used to ornate halls and jewel encrusted doors. Elias observed himself in the reflection of a robotic limb, he looked okay. The guard noticed and quickly drew his arm away, muttering something under his breath. Robians personally disgusted Elias; he considered them freaks, unnatural _things._ How Ant could actually _marry_ one was beyond him. He always associated Robians with the D.E.L, and the one he was about to meet was familiar to him.

He was nervous about meeting Beauregard, who was outspoken in his hatred for the Royal family, or 'the oppressors'. The Grandmaster blamed all of his people's woes on the action, or inaction of the Kingdom and its rulers. To him, the greatest threat to his people wasn't the maniac Eggman, but the Acorns. His reluctance to have Elias immediately executed was a mystery.

Elias' thoughts were interrupted. He was violently seized by the arms, and hoisted up. The large door swung open, and he was carried inside, protesting the whole way. "Don't you dare! Hey! Put me down this instant!"

"That's enough boys, let's show some respect to our guest." The voice came from the other end of the room, seething with contempt. It was a tall, long and narrow space, with a solitary desk at the very end. There wasn't much in the way of decorations, and the only other object was a cane resting lazily against the wall. Elias was gently lowered; he brushed himself off and glared at the figure behind the desk. They stood up and motioned for him to approach. "I do apologize for their rudeness; they're a little sore about this whole war business, understandably." A light came on from overhead; it illuminated the figure, revealing an elderly Rabbot.

Elias took a few steps forward, confident in his abilities. He extended an arm, a gesture of respect. When the Grandmaster responded by extending his metal appendage the young Prince cringed, and pulled back slightly. He gulped and grabbed the shiny hand. It was cool to the touch, and fortunately his hand survived without being crushed. He sat across from Beauregard.

"I would normally expect better discipline from your men, Beauregard, but it seems that I may expect too much." The Rabbot sat down.

"And I would normally expect a warning before receiving a diplomatic envoy, but it seems I overestimated your competence, whatever there may be." A quick retort from the Grandmaster, he'd been around too long to put up with a punk like Elias. "Give me a reason I shouldn't just have you killed where you stand right now.

"I'm sure my father wouldn't be pleased to know I was killed on a diplomatic mission. He might just bring the full force of the Kingdom down on you."

"This is not your precious Kingdom, you have _no _power here; and I hope you do understand that this meeting is a gift. I could easily have you and your men permanently detained as P., or worse, at any time. Especially since you just drove out here with no advanced notice."

"We had a white flag; it was obvious that we aren't here for war." Elias' argument was grasping at straws.

"Obvious? Boy, if you live to be as old as I am, you'll learn to shoot first, ask questions later." The Prince resented being called 'boy', he wanted to continue the banter, but he had business to get to, first he had to check on something.

"Where are my men?"

"In the brig, they're mostly ok."

"Mostly?"

"One of 'em got knocked in the noggin pretty hard." His voice was a mix of pleasure and sorrow. "It was my nephew-in-law, the D'Coolette, I hope he's ok..." he paused. "…For Bunnie's sake." He tapped himself on the head. "Doc says he's got p'tentially severe brain trauma and a concussion. Basically he got some brain damage from that nasty crash." He didn't sound sorrowful any more. "After what that guy did I'm worried he might not survive treatment."

"What do you mean?"

"We had to sedate the bastard, when he came too he started going crazy, swingin' at everyone and trying to kill 'em. Once he was out things got interesting."

"How so?"

"Well the men were puzzled by all the blood on his jacket, they thought he might have some kind of wound that went untreated, so they took it offa him. And lo and behold we found some interesting things in it." His smile faded. "They belonged to a couple of soldiers who were K.I.A not too long ago." He leaned in, closer to the Prince. "We also found his sabre. We put two and two together and realized he was the one who done it." He leaned back, and crossed his legs. "That made him none too popular with the troops, but I s'pose that will sort itself out." He grinned. "But you didn't come here just to hear about that, did ya?" His contempt was obvious in his voice.

Elias wasn't worried, his man could handle themselves. "We want to negotiate terms with you."

"Givin' up already?" Beauregard Joked, futilely trying to mask his hatred for the royal in front of him.

"You've got it backwards." Elias didn't see the humor. "We want to give you a chance, let you back out now and save face, and lives."

"Now why in hell would I want to do that?"

"We don't _have_ to fight this war, you can just take your men and go."

"Son, I do believe you've got rocks for brains." Elias gritted his teeth, resentful of the insults. Beauregard sighed, took off his ten gallon, rested it on the table, and stood up. "Walk with me." He walked over behind his desk and grabbed his cane, Elias came following after. The old Rabbot snapped his fingers, and the wall immediately behind the desk slid upwards, revealing a bird's eye view of the encampment. Elias realized that they were in a large tower, overlooking the whole base.

"My God…"What he saw awed him. Huge machines were swarmed by hundreds of troops, each one armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry. Some were standing rank and file, their rigid formation a truly intimidating sight. The D.E.L might have less numbers, but Elias was aware that the tech gap would sink his war effort. This was the whole reason he came here, to get a glimpse at what he was up against, he regretted it. Elias turned to Beauregard. "Why are you showing me this?"

"It's a warning, son. You might not believe this, but I _don't _want to annihilate you and your men. I'm giving you a chance to skedaddle. I _know_ that you can't handle this kind of tech, so go back to your tyrant, admit you're licked, and I won't blow the hell outa everybody and everything you have."

"I… I-" Elias was flustered, how could he possibly fight this?

"Now we know that those damn sand-blasters built some sort of EMP device to counter our technology…" Elias didn't know that, another thing they withheld from him. "… but I assure you, what you see here is just a taste. We are more than capable of completely overwhelming _any _defense you might have. Either you leave, or we decimate you, your men, and eventually your Kingdom."

"We _will_ defeat you." Elias tried to get a word in.

He was patted on the shoulder. "I don't know about that, you can't even trust your own countrymen. There are some people you just _don't _want to piss off." The comment hung in the air for a few moments. Elias was about to comment, but he was too slow. "Just something to think about." The window abruptly closed, leaving Elias staring at the wall. Beauregard continued. "Unless you have anything else to say, you just run along and pick up your little friends, and be on your way. You'll find that we repaired your vehicle, don't worry, we would never _dream_ of snooping in a diplomat's escort" And with that he ended the conversation early¸ sending the Prince off shattered.

The Prince was frozen in place; he had _no_ idea what to do. The plan was crumbling to pieces. If he accepted defeat and ran, he would have to face his father later, but if he tried to fight, he would be annihilated; it seemed he was between a rock and a hard place. Elias was led out of the room by some guards, all the while being watched by Beauregard, who was also whispering instructions to a subordinate. Upon his exit, Elias was greeted by even more guards, who escorted him outside, where his APC sat good as new. There were dozens of D.E.L surrounding them, the only exit was in front of the vehicle, and they had to leave in the APC.

His men were nearby, in line, with Antoine at the lead. His jacket was clean, and he stood at attention, the only things that were off were the bandage covering Ant's head and the blood on his hands. Upon further inspection, it seemed that the royal guards were standing as far from Ant as possible, as if something disturbed them. Elias walked up to him.

"Are you all right?"

"Ouimacapitaine Neverbeenbetter yeahimgoodreadytogo" His words were slightly slurred. He had a blank expression in his eyes, as if someone else was there too. Elias had more important things to worry about, like what the hell he was going to do.

Elias was too focused on his own problems to notice a figure in the background, clutching a remote in one hand, and slowly approaching the APC, waiting for the Prince to get inside.

* * *

WOAH. Crazy Ant with Brain Damage? HOLY FUDGE, this is gunna be great. ALSO, who can guess the mystery figure? Stay tuned, I hope the next chapter doesn't suck!


	15. Just a flesh wound

Another chapter, yay! That makes 15 in all, it seems like only yesterday I started writing.

Ragnarok: I hope you don't want Elias to get taught a lesson anytime soon, he's got bigger plans. And make the reviews as long as possible, i love 'em!

Jaydan: Yes, things are about to get really crazy

Anyway, in order to clear up any confusion, I decided to offer a timeline before this chapter starts, it is centered around Antoine.

Let's suppose that this all starts on a Monday.

MON

11am Ant is summoned to castle

11:30am Ant arrives at Castle

12pm receives commission, sent to meet other troops

12:30 meets Solman

1pm Leaves for Sand Blaster's camp

7pm Arrives

8pm gives speech

8:30pm assigned midnight patrol

9-11pm takes nap before mission

11:30 starts patrol

TUE

1am hits minefield

1:30 encounters 7 D.E.L legionnaires

1:45 kills 4 enemies in hand to hand

2am heads back to camp

3am arrives back at camp

3-7am sulks in room, does not sleep

7-7:30am goes to ceremony, receives medal for bravery

7:30-10am Sulks in room, does not sleep

10am dragged out of room, confronts Elias

10:15-10:30 drives APC

10:30 confronts Elias again, is told to get some rest

10:30am-1:30pm dream sequence

1:31 shell hits APC

And that's about it.

This chapter took FOREVER to write, i started off, and i couldn't stop. This WILL be the longest chapter i ever write, probably.

Now something important, THIS CHAPTER TAKES PLACE BEFORE, AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PREVIOUS ONE. That means that the beginning is before the previous chapter, and it eventually catches up, and passes it.

It also takes a long time for anything to actually happen, I wanted to introduce things from a lowly D.E.L soldier's viewpoint, because they aren't the bad guys their made out to be.

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Brandon loved his job; working in the medical ward was exhilarating work. He knew that every day he had a chance to save lives, and have a real impact on this war. As a young dingo he escaped the wrath of the second enerjak, and wound up being taken in by the D.E.L. His experiences with them got rid of his natural xenophobia, and for the small price of one robotic arm, he was allowed to serve others as a medic. Somehow he ended up with the Great Desert chapter, and was quietly serving his deployment against the Kingdom's forces.

He knew little of the Kingdom; none of the troops were familiar with it. Brandon had been told by the Baron that it was a corrupt, oppressive nation led by a tyrant, but he said that about anything that wasn't D.E.L. All Brandon cared about was saving lives, and doing something for his fellow mobians. The steady stream of casualties that flowed into the medical ward was straining the recourses of the small staff, but they continued on, desperately trying to help everyone. Brandon's biggest fear was not that a patient would die under his care; that happened all the time, it was when a soldier came in, and it was too late.

The worst moment of his career was only this morning. At about 3am 7 casualties were brought in, 3 were a bloody mess, the victims of some sort of explosion. The other four were savagely cut up, the victims of a bladed weapon, Brandon could only stare as their lifeless bodies were carted into the ward, but only for technical purposes, there was nothing they could do. As soon as they entered the ward, they were headed for the morgue. That was singlehandedly the worst moment of his medical career, but what was coming up would turn out to be the strangest.

Brandon was waiting for his shift to start; he had 15 minutes, so he took a quick walk around. It was inspiring to see so many troops in one place; his confidence soared the farther he walked. His pleasant walk was halted though, when a few sirens began to sound around the camp. The Dingo looked up, expecting to see something, but all he saw was the blue sky. Over the sound of the sirens something else could be heard, yelling off in the distance, the sound of clanking metal, Brandon was left to wonder what was going on.

The medic decided not to wait, he ran to the ward to check with the others. The medical ward was a relatively new building, with clean white hallways and state of the art equipment. It looked quite impressive on the outside, but on the inside the hospital was in chaos, the medics stood around, not fully understanding what was happening. There were infantrymen in the ward, barking orders at the medics.

"What the Hell is going on?" Brandon shouted at the nearest soldier.

The soldier turned to face him, it was an older dog, and he got to the point: "We got tangos coming in, just one vehicle."

"Huh?" He was confused.

"Listen, we got one enemy vehicle approaching, we're gunna engage, and we need you guys ready to handle any casualties."

"Ok." Brandon nodded and went to join the other medics. He met up with Senior Staff Surgeon Keelan Faulk, an experienced Robian Tiger, he chose to have his lower body roboticized; allowing him to retain the dexterity in his hands and remain effective at surgery. He was surveying the remaining supplies, making sure that there was enough to get through until the next shipment came in. "Um… Sir?" Brandon raised a halfhearted salute, simply attempting to spur a conversation.

"Huh?" The tiger raised his head; he looked terrible, probably because he had volunteered for 3 consecutive shifts. "Oh, Bowman! Nice to see you here!"

Brandon hated being called by his last name, but he had gotten used to it. "Yeah, so do y-"He was cut off by a large boom outside, the whole building shook. He instinctively cowered, while Keelan merely stood there, nonchalantly. It took a moment for Brandon to realize that it was just the D.E.L's artillery firing, probably at the lone vehicle. The troops who were also in the room quickly left to check on how the situation was developing.

"Bowman, get up, and help us get our supplies ready, just in case we have any survivors to take care of." Keelan motioned to the other staffers. They only had a few minutes, the artillery had stopped firing, and he silence was only temporary, Brandon snuck outside to see something awesome. A mangled APC, decorated with royal insignia, was being dragged into camp, the engine block was missing, and the only reason that the cockpit was intact was the copious amount of steel that was placed in front of the dashboard. The windshield was smashed, and the back was only slightly damaged. The vehicle was slowly taken to the engineers. How anyone could survive was beyond him.

Following close behind the vehicle was something strange, Brandon could make out 8 figures, 6 gorillas and two others, they were either carried, or walked under their own strength through the front gate. They were under guard, but after what they just went through, it was unlikely that they would have tried anything. It was the first time that Brandon had ever seen Kingdom troops, but he was mostly surprised that they were walking, let alone alive. All except one, there was one casualty that was carried in-between two of the captured gorillas on a stretcher, covered with some sheets, some sort of sword lying next to him sheathed. The dingo ran up to them, to check on the last casualty's condition.

He was met with grimaces from the royal troops, who were unwilling to trust an enemy they've been fighting so viciously. Brandon attempted to ease their concerns. "I'm a medic; I just want to check on this guy."

They unwillingly relented, and allowed the medic to examine their comrade. As they walked towards the infirmary, Brandon leaned down, and inspected the coyote's wounds thoroughly. The most noticeable was the one on his forehead; he had received a crushing blow to the head, although Brandon couldn't exactly tell how, he knew he had to get this guy to the E.R _now_.

He ordered two idle soldiers to take the stretcher from the new prisoners, and take it ASAP to the hospital, they responded quickly, and it didn't take long for the wounded coyote to get to the E.R.

Brandon followed them in, and was met by the Medical ward staff, they were going to ask him where he was, but when they noticed the steady trail of wounded approaching the hospital, they saved their questions for later. The gorillas were mostly unharmed, only cuts and bruises, with the occasional fracture.

Bowman couldn't stop staring at the chipmunk/squirrel thing that was off to the side, reluctantly being treated for minor injuries. Apparently he was driving, and the fact that he went relatively unharmed was nothing short of a miracle. He managed to overhear a small part of the conversation between the wounded and the doctor, enough to understand that this guy was actually the _prince_ of the Kingdom of Acorn. He was awed, to have actual royalty in his presence! Even though he was told to feel nothing but hatred for the Royal family, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of respect for the Prince. Brandon was quickly dragged away, Keelan quickly taking him to the E.R.

"Brandon, this is probably the most serious case I've ever worked on, I need your help." The tiger flung open the doors to the emergency room, and motioned to the unconscious coyote lying on the table in front of them. "After closer examination, it seems that the patient's brain is swelling, if untreated, it could cause massive damage to the frontal lobe, and probably death." His nonchalant tone surprised Brandon, there was absolutely no concern, or fear in the Senior Surgeon's voice.

"We-Well I suggest that…" His voice shook, he couldn't stop staring at the patient, his forehead was misshapen, and he seemed to be in so much pain, even though he was unconscious. Brandon paused, and took a deep breath. "We need to cut out a piece of the skull, giving the brain room to swell, or we could at least drill some holes." It sounded so weird to talk about drilling into someone's head, but the severity of the situation had not fully sunk in for the young dingo. He stepped forward and leaned over the patient. "What do you think?" He asked the tiger.

"Good idea." The surgeon replied monotonously.

"What are you guys doing?" A new voice chimed in, from behind the two doctors. It was a soldier, one of the troops who were escorting the casualties into the fort; he had somehow made his way into the E.R. They were a female cat.

"We're trying to treat a patient here." Brandon dismissed the infantryman.

"Don't be a smart ass, I mean _why_ are you doing this? He's the _ene__my_, he'd kill you in an instant, and you should worry about helping out your comrades."

Brandon was going to respond, but yet another voice did that for him. "That would be against his orders." This voice was familiar, and he instinctively snapped to attention. He heard a low chuckle. "Now now, at ease, soldier." It was the Baron, also known as Beauregard Rabbot. His cane made a clicking noise as he walked into the E.R. "Your orders are to preserve the life of this soldier, at any cost."

"Why?" The female feline was entitled to ask, and the Baron felt like answering.

"This particular Oppressor happens to be my nephew in law." The aged Grandmaster stood by the operating table, and leaned down. "I do wish we could have met under better circumstances though. It's a shame." He turned to face the doctors. "You _will_ take care of him." He motioned to Keelan. "Do whatever you have to do, and most importantly, make sure he's ready to go in a few hours."

"WHAT?" Keelan couldn't control his outburst. "There is extensive surgery required to just keep him alive, there's no way we can possibly have him in traveling condition in only a few hours!"

"I suggest you rethink your attitude doc. I don't believe you understood what I said. You _will _take care of him."

"Why should we treat the oppressor?" Brandon decided to speak up also, voicing genuine concerns. "You've always told us that the Kingdom was evil, and we shouldn't help them, so why should we do it now?"

"Because, I might hate him, but I don't want my niece to be a widow!" He raised his voice. "Don't you think that I'd be the first one to take him out back and shoot him for what his Kingdom's done to us? But I have to keep him alive, I owe his niece that much…" He grew silent, and waited for the others to respond. "Do you understand?" Brandon refused to speak, Keelan was still fuming, and the unnamed cat simply observed.

The silence grew unbearable, and Brandon simply stepped up to the table and prepared his instruments. Keelan followed after, and after administering copious amounts of anesthetic they silently began their work, with only the occasional word between them.

Beauregard observed and motioned for the feline to leave, when she had left, the Baron prepared to say something else, but was interrupted. A messenger stormed into the emergency room, frantically looking around. When he noticed the Grandmaster, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Sir, our guest is waiting."

"Let him wait, I'll speak to him when his vehicle is repaired." Beauregard was happy to talk to someone.

"No, I mean the _other _guest…" The messenger didn't like speaking of sensitive matters in front of the medics.

"oh!" The Grandmaster rubbed his hands together, genuine glee came to his face.. "Our esteemed new ally, I'll see him immediately, send him to the courtyard, I'll be there shortly." Beauregard left the room, but not before reminding the Surgeons: "Remember, ready in a few hours."

The two doctors momentarily paused to look at each other, who was this 'ally'? They continued their work with this question in the back of their minds.

"Brandon, pass me the scalpel."

"Here"

"OK, making an incision into the scalp, in order to expose the skull." Keelan slowly did as he said, and the smashed front of the skull was seen bare.

"Ugh." Brandon used tweezers to pick out small pieces of skull. It was mostly intact, so they had to make an incision.

"I'm going to drill four holes into the patient's skull in a rectangular pattern, weakening the skull and giving the brain room to expand." Keelan reached for the broad drill, and motioned for Bowman to hold the coyote's head steady.

"Noted" Brandon prepared the skull by wiping the area clear of anything that was in the way, and he held the patient down. The drill whirled to life, and was gently lowered down to make contact with Antoine's skull. Blood slowly bubbled out of the first hole, and the patient's brain could be partially seen within. The process was repeated until there were four holes; the blood was quickly wiped up by the Dingo.

Brandon was just going through the steps, inside he was torn; he sympathized for the patient, but he also hated him. He couldn't understand how Keelan could remain so calm while Brandon was about to burst. Keelan had a job to do, and the fear of Beauregard's wrath spurred him on more than any concern for the coyote. Brandon stared intently at his patient, only now did he realize that he stopped the examination with the patient's head.

"Hey"

"Yeah?" The tiger had just put the drill away, and was preparing to continue the surgery.

"While you're doing the next step, I'm gunna continue the examination."

"You mean you didn't finish?"

"Not exactly…" Brandon leaned over and slowly lifted the sheets up, revealing a startling sight. The coyote wore a blue jacket that was stained with blood, he began to panic. "Oh shit!" He was sure that there was an untreated wound there.

"How did you miss that?" Keelan stopped what he was doing and moved over to help his assistant. At the same time, other doctors made their way into the E.R, having just finished taking care of the other casualties.

"I was too occupied with his head! Let's just get this jacket Offa him!" The Senior Staff surgeon carefully raised the patient's head, and Brandon slipped the jacket off of the Coyote, and he removed the undershirt, what he found surprised him. Nothing, his chest was fine, except for some slight scratches, nothing that could have caused that much blood loss. "What the hell?" This was definitely weird. Brandon turned to face those had just arrived. "Are there any Hematologists here?" One of the doctors raised their hand. A middle aged dog stepped forward; he had optical implants that helped him more closely observe blood.

Brandon tossed the jacket at him. "Take a look." The canine caught it, and held it close to his face.

"This isn't his blood." It didn't take the dog long to find out.

"How can you tell that?" Keelan was skeptical. He returned to taking care of the coyote's injury. He slowly affixed a thin metal plate to the skull, strengthening the skull while also allowing the brain to swell.

"Because it's too dark, there's no way this is mobian blood." The Hematologist stated matter of factlly.

"What do you mean?" Brandon was curious.

"There's oil in this, its Robian blood." He held the jacket up for everyone to see. "This is _our_ blood."

"How did he get it on him?" Brandon refused to see the painful truth.

"Well, I can tell _when_ he got it on him." The dog looked at a nearby clock. It was about 1:50 pm."It coagulated about 12 hours ago, or about 2 am. And from the looks of it, there was more than one source."

"Wait, so he got the blood on him at 2 this morning?" Brandon's mind began to race. "And it came from more than one person?"

"Yeah."

"Holy shit." The dingo backed away from the table, staring at the patient lying on the table.

"What's wrong?" One of the other doctor's asked.

"This morning, we only had 7 casualties reported, and 4 of them were killed the same way…" Brandon paused, he was choking up. "They were killed with a sword." He weakly pointed to the sabre lying at the patient's side.

had finished his work, applying an experimental gel to the coyote's forehead, which stimulated the growth of 'skin', and the patient's forehead looked good as new, he finished it off by wrapping gauze around Ant's head. When he managed to hear the end of their conversation; he carelessly dropped his tool, and confronted Brandon without letting him finish his sentence. "Are you telling me I just saved the life of a killer?"

"It seems that way."

"I'll Kill him!" Keelan looked around, and grabbed a nearby bone saw. "I'll fucking rip his arms off!" The tiger's arm hovered perilously over the coyote's chest.

Brandon held his head in his hands. The jacket was tossed back at him, and the hematologist and the other doctors turned to leave, they didn't want to see what would come next. The dingo was repulsed by the piece of clothing. He felt it with his fingers, he felt something heavy in one of the pockets. Brandon held the jacket with one hand, and dug around in the pockets with the other. All he found was some small trinkets, nothing with any intrinsic value whatsoever, except for a small pocket watch, which contained a small photograph. The dingo stood up, and grabbed the senior surgeon's arm. "Remember, we have to keep him alive."

"Why the hell should we?"

Brandon presented the photo; it was of a young Rabbot, wearing a wedding dress. "We have to keep him alive, for her. Beauregard says so."

"But c'mon, he _killed_ 4 of our troops; we can't just let him go!"

"We _have_ to!" Brandon felt disgusting on the inside, he didn't agree with himself. He grabbed the other doctor's arm with his robotic one, and was holding him back from finishing off the coyote. He tried to console the surgeon. "I don't like it either, but we have our orders!" The tiger lowered his arm, and the bone saw clattered to the ground.

"It just doesn't seem right." They both looked down on the patient; Keelan patted Brandon on the back. "Well, I'll call the Baron and tell him the procedure was a success." The tiger left the room, leaving the dingo alone with the patient, who was starting to stir, unbeknownst to eh young dingo.

Brandon sat in a small chair in the corner of the room and held his head in his hands, trying to understand exactly what just happened. He just saved the life of the person who single handedly caused the worst day of his professional career. He was so occupied with thought that he didn't notice the patient's movements. The coyote opened his eyes and silently moved into a sitting position; he rubbed his head, and slowly lowered himself to his feet. He made no sound as he stumbled over to the seated dingo. Brandon looked up and saw a large, imposing figure standing over him; they lashed out, and grabbed the medic by the throat. Brandon was lifted in the air, and came face to face with the coyote.

"Whereami?" His words came out ridiculously fast, the act of speaking so painful that it seemed he did it as quickly as possible.

"Ugh. You're -ack- , in the hospital!" His strength surprised Brandon, who was grasping at his own throat. It seemed futile, he resorted to punching the Coyote in the gut with his robotic arm, but it had no effect.

"Whatdidyoudotome?" The primal look in his eyes frightened the small dingo, who stopped punching long enough to answer.

"We, -gasp- stopped your brain from crushing itself within your skull!" He gasped desperately for air. "Please! -ack- let me go! I just saved your life!" These words only caused the coyote to strengthen his grip, his nails dug into the dingo's neck, and blood could be seen. "PLEASE!" Keelan must have heard his cries, and he suddenly appeared in the room.

"What the fuck?" The tiger ran to help his associate. He let loose a massive haymaker that struck the assailant right on the chin, Antoine was unfazed. The coyote dropped Brandon and turned to face Keelan.

"Thatfuckinghurt." Antoine lashed out, and hit the tiger squarely in the face, breaking his nose. He continued his physical onslaught, pounding the old doctor with his fists, turning their head into a bloody mess. The coyote was relentless, not stopping even when his opponent was unconscious.

Brandon crawled along the ground, with something in his hand, trying to help his comrade. "Stop! You're gunna kill him!" The beating stopped. Almost as if he said the magic words, Antoine stopped, and looked around.

"Oh my god…" He let go of Keelan, and the aged doctor's body dropped to the floor. "I'm didn't mean to-"He couldn't finish his sentence, Brandon had jabbed a syringe into the coyote's neck while he was distracted, and a ridiculous amount of sedatives were pumped into his bloodstream. Antoine slumped over, and was unconscious. Brandon slowly got to his feet, and caught his breath.

"Motherfucker. I save your life and I get this?" He spat blood onto Antoine, just as he did so Beauregard entered the room. He didn't catch what was just said.

"What in the hell happened here?" The Rabbot hurried over to Brandon. "I told you to _save_ his life, not beat him up!" He yelled in the Dingo's face, neglecting the wounded tiger nearby.

"We did!" Brandon was pissed. "This motherfucker tried to kill us afterwards!" He kicked the unconscious body in the side. "And guess what!" The Baron grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What?"

"He's the one that killed those four soldiers!" Tears formed in Brandon's eyes. "You made me save the life of a _killer_!" He pushed Beauregard away. "He could've killed _me_ too! I don't care if he _is _family to you, we should've just let him rot!" The Baron raised his cane, but sighed, and lowered it again.

"Son, I appreciate you doing your job, now let me do mine." He clapped his hands, and a green Armadillo that was previously hidden revealed herself.

"Matilda, would you _escort_ our guest to the brig?"

"Yessir" She responded quickly. The Robian picked Ant up by the torso, and slung him over her shoulder. She carried him away, down the hallway.

Brandon was still upset. "What are you gunna do? Are you just letting him go?"

"Ah don't have a choice! If we let him die, the Kingdom could use that, say we're savages, refusing to help out wounded!" He yelled at his subordinate. "Even if it wasn't for personal reasons, I still would've ordered you to help him, Understand?"

"yes, sir." He grumbled. He motioned to Keelan. "What should I do about him?"

"You're the doctor, _you_ do something." Beauregard was not in the mood for an argument, and turned to leave. "I have a certain Prince to meet with." He stopped and turned, unwilling to leave on a sour note. "I really do appreciate your efforts. Thank you."

"Sure." Brandon answered nonchalantly. He waited for the Baron to leave, and then he lifted Keelan up, placed him on the table, and began his work.

Elsewhere in the camp, Matilda had just arrived at the Brig, a small, old building that only served one purpose, hold prisoners. She entered through the front door, and proceeded towards the inner depths of the Prison. The armadillo came upon the single cell that held all of the gorillas. She waited for one of the guards to open the cell, and she then halfheartedly tossed Antoine inside. He was still unconscious, and he stayed that way for another hour, until he was violently awoken by his fellow prisoners.

"Hey man, get up."

"Huh?" Ant sat up, his head pounded, and the mere act of thinking caused him severe pain.

"We're moving out, it's time for us to go." The nearest gorilla helped him to his feet. The other prisoners were on the other side of the cell, as far from him as possible. One of the guards tossed a bundle into the cell.

"Hey shithead, you left your crap in the ward." Ant leaned over and opened it up; the sack contained his freshly cleaned jacket, sabre and locket. He slowly managed to get himself dressed, and as soon as he finished, he was herded out of the cell. "Get a move you Fucks! Time to leave!" They were lead outside, and found themselves near the gate, where a large crowd had gathered. Their APC was there too, in almost perfect condition, those engineers took pride in their work. They were quickly addressed by the head of security for the camp.

"Listen up! We're letting you go! When you're little Princess shows up, you will_ not_ move, not until he gets in the vehicle, then you can follow after. Do you understand?" The prisoner's nodded. "Good! Now stay there, he should be out shortly." A few more guards could be seen, keeping their eyes, and guns, trained on the Royal troops.

It seemed like forever for Antoine, he had trouble standing, and his head throbbed with every second. Eventually, the Prince did show up. He walked right up to Antoine.

"Are you all right?" There was genuine concern in Elias' voice.

Antoine tried to respond normally, but he couldn't control what he was saying, almost like in the hospital, where he couldn't control his actions. "Ouimacapitaine Neverbeenbetter yeahimgoodreadytogo" He speech was definitely slurred.

In the background, there was an unnoticed figure slowly approaching the APC. They clutched a remote in one hand, and were waiting for the Prince to enter the vehicle. When he did, they placed their thumb on one of the remote's buttons, preparing to trigger the explosive device they had hidden in the vehicle's engine block.

But for some reason they did not press it, something held them back. For all intents and purposes, they had every right to press the button; they were personally wronged by these men, especially one of them. The mysterious figure dropped the remote, and crushed it with their foot. He would rather get his vengeance face to face, and besides, he didn't have long before his absence would be noted back home. He watched with a smug grin as his prey escaped, knowing full well that he wasn't the only one who spared the coyote that day.

The APC drove off into the distance, the occupants blissfully unaware of the sudden end that they so narrowly avoided. They were heading back to base; everyone was a little shaken by what had happened that day. Antoine was slumped in his seat, he refused to sleep, but he knew that it was pointless. His actions in the Hospital proved it; he was losing control of himself. His inner self was now able to slip in and take control, if only for a few moments. He returned to base with the knowledge that things were about to go from really bad, to worse.

* * *

Oh Man. That was freaking crazy. I can't believe it's really 4,000 words. HOLY CRAP

i expect Brandon and Keelan to re-appear in the future. And who is the mysterious figure? GUESS, I DARE YOU.

Also, i LOVE all of you. Really, you guys make this all possible.


	16. The truth sets you free?

This chapter is somewhat filler, it's meant to introduce new conflicts, and characterize.

I'm getting feedback that Elias is a jerk, good! That's what i'm going for! Also, he has some bigger plans for himself, so he's about to get worse, this chapter is a feeble attempt to give him 'sympathy'.

Ragnarok: Keep writing long reviews! I love 'em!

Uchiha: Good guess, but not quite, the next couple of chapters should shed some light on that.

Also, this chapter was written rather quickly.

ENJOY!

COMMENT!

* * *

The APC moved at breakneck speed. Elias was desperately trying to outrace the one thing he could never beat, time. His Vehicle bounced around on the dunes, sending everything that was not firmly secured flying around the cabin.

"Hey, Elias." Antoine tried to get the Prince's attention, who seemed to be in a trance, staring intently at the horizon. He either ignored or did not hear the comment. "Hey!" Antoine tried again, and for a second time his cry was not responded to. He leaned in and yelled a final time into Elias' ear. "HEY!" This last outburst seemed to get the trick done; the Prince loosened his grip on the wheel and looked around, the APC decelerated.

"Huh, What?"

"You were going way too fast. I'd rather wait until I got back to camp to get killed." Ant joked, feebly trying to lighten the mood, despite his pounding headache.

"Whatever." The prince was not amused, and he continued driving.

"Why were you going so fast anyway?" Antoine was suspicious, it seemed that Elias was hurrying, what happened in the meeting with Beauregard.

"If only you knew." Elias sighed, he needed to get back to base ASAP, and he didn't have any time to waste.

"Knew what?" The Prince's comment intrigued Antoine. There was no response. "What happened with Beauregard?"

"Listen, I have to know I can trust you. Whatever I say_ cannot _leave this vehicle." He took a deep breath and prepared to speak. "I tried to negotiate terms with Beauregard, he wasn't game."

"What do you mean?" Ant's headache was slowly dissipating.

"He told me that _we_ should be the one's giving up." He paused; the next part would be painful. "He showed me something terrible."

"…" Antoine said nothing, he was anxious to hear what would come next.

"I saw hundreds of troops, armed with some of the most advanced technology I've ever seen. Large mechs, laser rifles, hyper cannons, you name it." The vehicle sped up. "I have no clue what we're going to do." Elias turned to Antoine, I'm afraid we don't have many options."

"Are we going to retreat?"

"What? No! We may have absolutely no chance of success, but that doesn't mean we should run with our tails between our legs! No, we're staying put."

"Um… So what _are _we gunna do?"

"Well, we're going to pray for a miracle." His hand trembled as he reached into his coat pocket for a cigar. He chomped the end off and lit it with his lighter, which had a dent in in compliments of the accident. "And then we're gunna go all out."

"Are you serious?"

"We don't have any other options!"

"Yes, we do!" Antoine was flabbergasted, and his headache soon returned. "We could get more re-enforcements, we could retreat and regroup, we don't have to stay here and get slaughtered!"

"I am _not_ going back to Knothole a failure! We are going to beat the enemy, and we will do it _here!" _ He chuckled. "And I'm sure as hell not getting any help from my Father."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand, it's a Prince thing." Elias took a long drag on the cigar, and spat the fumes right into Antoine's face. Ant waved the air in front of his face.

"Ugh, that smoke's making my head pound." Elias turned to look at him, the wide, flat landscape allowing the Prince to take his eyes off of the scene ahead.

"That reminds me, what happened to your head? I was told you got some serious damage."

"Yeah, apparently my brain was swelling, that's all the docs told me…" His voice trailed off, the painful memory was hard to bring up. Elias picked up on the Coyote's sudden depression.

"What's wrong?" Antoine looked away, unwilling to respond. Elias was for one of the first times, sincerely concerned about someone other than himself. "Antoine…" He brought the vehicle to a crawl, and rested a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "What happened back there?"

"I... I don't exactly know."

"Tell me what you remember."

Antoine turned to face Elias. "I remember waking up on a table, my head hurt really badly. And I sat up, only I didn't want to."

"What?"

"I didn't want to sit up, I just did, and I couldn't control myself."

"What do you mean?" Elias was starting to become weirded out.

"It's like I was on the inside, looking out, with no control over my actions."

"Well, what happened next?"

"I slowly got off of the table, and there was someone else in the room, a dingo."

"A dingo? Here? That's really weird." Elias got sidetracked by this minor detail.

"Anyway, I walked up to him, and I just grabbed him! I lifted him up the neck! I mean the poor kid was just freaking out, smashing me in the stomach with his robot arm, it hurt, but I didn't let go!"

Elias was captivated, this was just crazy, he almost didn't believe it, but the look in Ant's face told him it had to be true. "Woah."

"I was holding him so tight he started bleeding, I said something, I can't remember what, and some tiger came into the room. He punched me right in the face, I just dropped the kid, and I started…" He choked up. "I…" It was really hard for Antoine to recall that painful moment. "I started wailing on the old man."

"Holy shit." Elias inconsiderate comment didn't help Ant's mood.

"I didn't stop…" Ant held up his hands, still covered in blood. "I turned his face into a bloody pulp. I only stopped because the kid said something to snap me out of it."

"What did he say?"

""You're gunna kill him!"" Ant held back tears as he quoted Brandon's words. He took a deep breath and held his head in his hands. "Luckily, the kid knocked me out with some kind of sedative before I lost control again." Antoine paused.

"Wow." Elias tried to think of something to say, but he didn't want to anger the Lieutenant.

"God…" The coyote looked pleadingly up at the Prince. "I had no control over myself." Antoine was devastated, he knew that there was something seriously wrong with himself.

"Then who did?" Elias hit the problem on the head, he asked more probing questions. "If you weren't the one in control, who was?"

"…" Antoine didn't want to answer; he wasn't sure how Elias would respond to the fact that his most trusted comrade was a schizophrenic, slightly sociopathic killer who occasionally slipped into total madness. He looked away, and stared out of the passenger window.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"It's… hard to explain."

"Antoine…" Elias pulled his subordinate around to face him; the coyote didn't look him in the eyes. "Look at me." He still wouldn't make eye contact. He resorted to using a word he didn't use often. "Please." The formality surprised Antoine, who finally looked Elias in the eyes. "We are about to face the toughest challenge yet, and I _must_ know that no one I'm working with is a liability." He sounded sincere, because heactually _was_ sincere, something the Prince was not used too.

"There's something wrong with me." Antoine struggled to find the words. There were still tears in his eyes.

"Well, it might be the brain damage." Elias tried to understand, he needed to know what was wrong with Antoine, he needed to know if he was still of use to him.

"No, it was there before." Antoine was choking up.

"it?" Antoine's choice of words confused Elias.

Antoine desperately searched for the words to describe what was wrong with him. "Are you familiar with Schizophrenia?"

"No." Elias's answer didn't surprise Antoine.

"I…" Ant struggled with the words. "I hear things."

"Like voices?"

"Yeah."

"Oh" Elias slumped back in his seat, completely floored by the news. He was still confused, this didn't answer his question. "But that doesn't explain who was in control."

"Well, it's really confusing." Antoine didn't want to continue this discussion.

"It's ok, keep going."

"At first I thought it was just a voice." He turned, and stared out of the passenger window. "But it's really a lot more." Ant sighed deeply. "It's like another me."

"Holy shit." Elias was intrigued. This was interesting.

Antoine ignored the exclamation. "It's hard to explain. But this 'thing' in my head isn't just a voice, but I can't really explain what it is." Ant turned to face the Prince. "_That_ is what took control; somehow I think the brain damage made it possible for it to take over when I'm at my weakest." He chuckled. "I guess the truths out, I'm crazy." He wiped his eyes, trying to clear any tears that might have formed.

Elias took the new rather well. "I guess we all are in our own way."

"What? Didn't you hear me? I'm a schizophrenic who could lose control at any moment! Aren't you worried?" Ant was scared of himself, how the prince wasn't surprised him.

"Nah." Elias stepped on the gas, and the APC steadily sped forward. He turned to focus on the road. "To be honest, I'm just glad you told me. And besides, I trust you, Antoine; I know you'll get through this alright."

Antoine suddenly had a newfound respect for the Prince. "So, you're not worried?" He was momentarily distracted from his severe self-loathing.

The prince was exultant; he knew just how to shape this to his advantage. All he had to do was keep Antoine occupied until he was needed, and then he could not only win the war, but do some major housekeeping as well. "Antoine, out of all the Shit that happened today¸ I'd have to say that this is some tame news." Elias turned towards the Lieutenant and puffed on his cigar. "And you've still got a job to do." He patted him on the back. "That refinery won't take itself."

"Yeah." Antoine was pleased, the Prince took the news better than expected, but of course Ant had other plans for himself. He didn't care about Elias' problems, he knew what he had to do in order to save the men from being annihilated, and he just hoped Elias stayed out of his way. The two soldiers continued on, they had just unknowingly dragged themselves to the opposite corners of a metaphorical boxing ring, about to face off.

They arrived at the base, tired, and deserving of rest. Elias silently trudged to the HQ tent, with Antoine following quickly behind. Once inside the tent, and when Antoine was completely sure they were alone, Ant asked the Prince a question.

"Is there a phone?"

"Yeah, right over there." Elias pointed to a corner of the tent, to a large device that could only be described as obsolete. Antoine hurried over to it, and picked up the receiver. He began to dial a number,

"Calling the wife?"

Antoine decided to make his intentions known, damn the consequences. He turned and said with a straight face. "I'm calling the Freedom Fighters."

* * *

OH SNAP (i like saying that at the end of chapters)

What will Elias' response be?

What is Antoine doing?

What is Elias' plan?

What is Elias' other plan?

How does Ant have service in the desert?

Why are you still reading this?

Why do you like this story?

Answer any of these questions in a comment for extra credit and 1 (imaginary) cookie!

How will the Freedom fighters respond to being called? (assuming they get the call at all.)


	17. The truth gets you killed

Another short chapter! YAY! This one is crazy. I decided to alter the plot a little, mainly because of some comments that show a lack of support for Elias.

I love writing this story, i'm either eating, sleeping or writing. (yes, even at school , i'm the only guy with a composition notebook. :)

To all the readers, you guys rock.

To all the non-reviewers, you guys rock too. (don't tell the reviewers!)

Also, my friend, when reading this story, told me: "He must listen to some crazy music." She then demanded that i create a play list for Antoine, one song for each chapter, i'll show that at the end, After the chapter.

This is the big conflict channel, the truth comes out. Elias vs. Antoine , the fight of a lifetime! (but really tame to what's coming up.) this chapter could be longer, but i like the ending how it is.

* * *

"Run that by me again." Elias stepped towards Antoine; he dug a finger in one ear. "I don't think I heard you right." He chuckled ominously; his voice had a panicked tone. "Because for some reason it sounds like you said you're going to call the Freedom Fighters. But that's _not_ what you said, right?"

Antoine held his ground; he knew Elias wouldn't try anything against him. "That's what I said." He continued to dial the number. "Based on what you told me, they're our only hope." When he finished dialing, he held the receiver up to his ear.

"No!" Elias bounded forward in a fit of rage, in a rare act of strength he grabbed the stationary phone, lifted it up, and threw it across the floor. He turned, his face contorted in pure wrath. "What the fuck?" His voice rose until it was a yell. "We don't need to call them; I am _not_ getting help from a bunch of vagabonds!" He pointed at Antoine. "You may have been one of them, but that was _then_. Now you are a lieutenant in the Royal Army!" The Prince advanced, bringing Ant within striking distance.

"Are you calling the freedom fighters _vagabonds?_" Antoine was disgusted by this insult. "We've saved this Kingdom's ass so many times, it's not even funny!" Ant started to yell also. "Why don't you want our help?"

"We don't _need _their help!"

"Bullshit!" Ant closed the distance between them; they were in each other's face. "You know that we're the only ones with the ability to fight the D.E.L." Ant whirled around; trying to understand what was going on. "Wait a minute…"

Elias grew impatient. "Antoine, for the first time would you just follow orders? You have no right to question my authority!" The word authority clicked in Ant's brain.

"That's it! You don't want the Freedom Fighters to help because Sally would get all the credit for saving your ass!" Ant pointed accusingly at the Prince. "You don't want her to show you up!" He shook his head in disbelief, remembering their earlier conversation. "I guess that's the '_Prince thing_' you mentioned earlier." He continued on. "And what about the King, are you afraid of disappointing Daddy?" Antoine's tone shifted to mocking.

"Fuck you! I have sacrificed so much for this kingdom! You wouldn't even _begin_ to understand!"

"Like what, live in a mansion?" Ant was pissed; he didn't care about the consequences.

"I don't have to tell you, you fucking maniac!" Elias spat.

"Oh real nice, make fun of the guy who's got a voice in his head that tells him to kill people!"

"Tells him to what?" Elias didn't remember Ant mentioning that.

"Don't change the subject! I'm sick of your shit, you spoiled little prick!" Ant was angry, not just for himself, but also the other troops. "You _drafted_ a bunch of kids! And for what, was it to satisfy your father?"

"I did it for Mobius!"

"Cut the crap! You did it for yourself. You did it because you're afraid of failure more than anything!" Antoine started to giggle. "And Antoine started to giggle, a mixture of insanity and severe depression. "And you used to be such a great guy! Hell, I looked up to you!" There was a threat of tears for Antoine, but it was just a threat.

"How touching." Elias took the sincere words and shot them down. "And I _used_ to trust you!" He spoke flatly. "This is how the world works, Antoine. And if you're unwilling to get along, then you're just a liability."

"A liability?" Ant was furious. "Because I'm unwilling to let you get these men _killed_ because you have father issues?"

Elias was red with rage. "Would you cut the 'father issues' crap?" He yelled. "This isn't about my father; this is about the Kingdom as a whole!"

Antoine's voice was suddenly quiet, each word spaced out in a crescendo of rage. "I am sick, and tired, of you, trying, to, lie to me!" He screamed, he grabbed the Prince by the collar. "Why can't you just say it? Why can't you just fucking admit, that the only reason you're here, is to protect your power! Just sayit!" He shook the Prince furiously, who responded by smashing the coyote in the forehead with his fist, sending him sprawling.

"Don't _ever_ touch me, you freak!" Elias let it all loose, unleashing a stream of verbal abuse. "You insane shit! I can't believe I put up with all of this for so long, I even defended you! I prevented my father from having you killed!" He didn't care that he just revealed extremely sensitive information, in the heat of the moment he just wanted to hurt Ant, who still had not got up. Elias felt his whole world crumbling; the last person he trusted at all just deserted him. He stood over Ant, continuing to hurl insults at the downed Lieutenant.

Ant steadily rose to his feet, shaking slightly. His head pounded, and he felt himself trapped on the inside, looking out. He spoke with absolutely no emotion in his voice. "Are you telling me that King Max wanted me to die?"

"Yes! The Truth is out!" The prince threw his hands up, exasperated. "Now you see what the world really is!"

"Oh this is too good." Antoine rubbed his hands together. "Now do we see what we were saying?"

Elias was going to continue his sarcastic confession, but he was distracted by the weird grammar. "Wait, what?"

"Well, it seems that we agree with us." Antoine stepped forward, putting the two 'comrades' once again face to face.

"What's with the weird grammar?" Elias was slightly creeped out.

"Sorry, _Prince_ but we must decline your offer to stay here and help, we have better things to do." Antoine grinned, pure insanity etched on his face.

"You don't have a choice!" Elias was infuriated. He refused to allow Ant to humiliate him like this.

"Yeah, we do. We choose to leave." Ant turned to leave, nonchalantly walking away. "we're going to Knothole to get the Freedom Fighters."

"Come Back Here!" Elias screamed, reacting to the sudden loss of power. "I swear to GOD, if you don't stop right where you stand…" Elias whipped out his sidearm, a mostly ceremonial pistol, but it still shot, and that's all that mattered. "… I'll shoot you for insubordination!" He grinned; maybe Antoine wasn't the only crazy one.

"Oh c'mon man, you won't shoot us." Ant was surprisingly unafraid, mainly because Ant had just lost control. He took a few slow steps, arms outstretched, toward the Prince. "We'll play nice."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Even with Ant's promise, Elias didn't lower his weapon. The pistol remained leveled, a shot fired would enter Ant's forehead, piercing the metal plate, killing him instantly. But Ant would make sure not to give him that chance.

* * *

OH SNAP

A cliffhanger, i like those. If i was a jerk, i would refuse to update for a while, just to make you suffer, but i wont.

I hope the next chapter doesn't suck! have a nice day, thanks for reading.

Here's that list i mentioned

ch.1 the General - Dispatch

ch.2 No more Guy - Alice Cooper

ch.3 War Pigs - black sabbath

ch.4 Another Brick in the Wall pt.2 - Pink Floyd

ch.5 Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith

ch.6 Paint it Black - Rolling Stones

ch.7 Shot in the Dark - Ozzy

ch.8 Crazy - Gnarles Barkley

ch.9 Seek and Destroy - Metallica

ch.10 Paint it black - Rolling Stones

ch.11 Stranglehold - Ted Nugent

ch.12 Broken Hearts are for Assholes - Frank Zappa

ch.13 Paranoid - Black Sabbath

ch.14 Rock you like a Hurricane - Scorpions

ch.15 Stylo - Gorillaz

ch.16 Carry on Wayward son - Kansas

ch.17 Killing in the name - Rage against the Machine


	18. Well Then

ANOTHER CHAPTER! YAY!

This one was hard to write, i struggled with how to adequately get out of the pickle. I think it worked nicely.

The hardest part was trying to get Elias' lines down, he's in a bad place right now. Let me clarify.

Also, i found a beautiful picture that kinda sorta describes Antoine earlier, all scared and locked up in his room, with his inner self trying to get through to him: (fur affinity . net/full/2120149/) All credit to the original artist BrainCellAssasin.

He was dragged out of his simple lifestyle and made into a Prince, he was taught to betray his morals and look down on others, he left his wife to go to war, and he's perpetually afraid that his sister might take the throne instead of him. He's always trusted Antoine, and now he's being betrayed by him. He might not have the best of morals, but he's feeling pretty lousy on the inside.

Antoine on the other hand, has discovered that he's a sociopathic schizophrenic, who has a Psychopathic alter ego that tells him to kill people. He's lost faith in everything he's known, he now knows that his wife is holding him back, and that the only possible way to get rid of the voice is to start killing people. He almost killed someone that saved his life, and he saw Fisher die right in front of him. He's afraid to do anything, mainly because he's afraid of losing control.

Max, while not mentioned much, is an aging King, he doesn't want to give up the throne, not out of greed, but because he didn't feel that Elias or Sally is the right person to succeed him. He has faith in his son, but also knows that he's not the same general Armand was. He was also betrayed, by Julian, Ixis, and Amadeus, and so he refuses to accept outside help, especially that of Amadeus' son, who still has a part to play in this story.

anyway, enough character summaries. I'd like to say that those who have been reviewing have been a great motivation to me. I do try to use your suggestions, and i take your criticism to heart.

Also, this chapter is the start of something beautiful, expect the next couple of chapters to be thoroughly violent and awesome.

* * *

Normally, in a standoff, you don't want to act to hastily. The two former comrades stood about 5 feet apart, neither one willing to make the first move. Ant stood, arms outstretched with a sly grin on his face, confident in a favorable outcome, his inner self in control for the time being. Elias was rigid, his pistol gripped firmly in his hands, pointed directly in-between the eyes of his Lieutenant. On the outside, the Prince was stout and fearless; on the inside he was terrified and rattled. Elias' hand trembled as he delivered a line.

"D-Don't make me do this." Elias raised his voice, willing himself to hold strong. Every fiber of his being told him not to stand down, but his pride wouldn't allow him to.

"We're not making you do anything." Ant inched closer to the Prince. "You don't want to try anything, not with me."

"Shut it. I'm ordering you to stand down N-Now take a seat." He motioned with the pistol to a nearby chair. Antoine stayed where he was. "That's an order!" Elias stepped forward and pulled the hammer back on the pistol to accentuate his resolve. Ant found himself staring down the Prince, trying to find a small lapse, an opportunity to strike.

"We're not moving, Elias." The Lieutenant spoke calmly.

"For God's sake, just stand down!" Elias' frustration was apparent in his voice. "I don't want to do this!"

"Then Don't!" Antoine chuckled, his smart-ass answer meant to shake Elias, to make him make a mistake. "Let us go to the freedom fighters, let us get their help!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?" Antoine already knew the answer.

"You know why!" Elias didn't feel the need to explain himself.

"Is the throne so important to you that you'll forsake your countrymen?"

"Dammit Antoine, that's not what this is about! There are things going on that you couldn't possibly understand!"

"Like what?"

"I can't tell you…" Elias voice trailed off, he was thinking of how he could avoid spilling the beans.

"Oh, is it _classified?"_ Ant said the last word sarcastically; he seriously doubted that Elias could have any ulterior motive. He hated being lied to, and his anger rose the longer the conversation continued. "Cut the bullshit, you just want to make sure that you get the throne, and you can't have your sister cutting in the line of succession!"

"Damn it Antoine, you're not listening to me. This isn't about that. You have to trust me!" Elias was lying through his teeth; trying anything he could to calm the beast in front of him.

"We don't _have _to do anything!" Antoine's inner self was about to hit a boiling point, ready to lash out in reaction to these lies. "We're going to get help, whether you like it or not!"

"God Damn it, just give me a chance!"

"If you're telling the truth, then lower the gun!" Ant motioned to the pistol. "If you want us to trust you, then you have to trust us first!"

"Yeah right, after all that stuff you said about 'not having control' and how you beat up those two doctors, why should I trust you? How can I even know it _is_ you! You might not even be in control now!" Elias started to wonder if he should just take the shot.

"We assure you, we are very much in control of the situation." Antoine picked up on the Prince's idea, and decided to act. He took a long stride forward. Elias' hand twitched.

"Why won't you just trust me? Why can't you just go along with my plan?"

"We just can't…"

"That's not an answer!"

"Yes, it is! We don't trust you, we don't like you, and we don't care about your little problems! We just want to save the other men, the men _you_ don't care about! We aren't going to let them _die_ because you have an ego problem!" Antoine spoke from the heart, even though it was his inner self doing the speaking.

"Are you really that blind? If we don't stop them here, what's going to stop them from just invading Knothole? Those men are here to do a job, and by GOD they're gunna do it."

"What's their job? Getting annihilated for your ego?" Ant retorted.

"Stop simplifying things. This is a war!" Elias grew more and more enraged, completely willing to take the shot after the comments Ant just made. "We all have sacrifices to make, yours truly included."

"But we don't have to sacrifice ourselves for nothing!"

"For _nothing_? You consider your Kingdom _nothing?_ If only your father could hear you now!" Elias wanted to hurt Ant, he didn't care that this was a life and death situation, he just wanted to hurt him emotionally. It worked.

"Don't you dare bring our father into this!" Antoine was appalled by the low blow. "You will _never _compare to him!" Even Ant's inner self had massive amounts of respect for the old man.

"And how is that?" Elias already considered himself better than that old fool.

"It's because you'll get us all killed! And it'll be all because you're jealous of your sister, and you're unwilling to ask for help!" Ant spat at the Prince. "You're pathetic! We hope you _never _become king!"

That was the last straw; Elias put his left hand on the gun, in order to steady it. "Antoine, I'm going to count to 3, if you don't stand down by then I'll kill you where you stand." His voice wavered, giving away his lack of confidence. Ant drummed his fingers, in preparation for his next move.

"One" Elias' trigger finger twitched, he restrained himself, trying to give the coyote a chance; even though he didn't feel like Ant deserved it. He took a deep breath and centered his aim, his pistol trained directly between the coyote's eyes.

"Tw-"In those few moments of time, an almost infinite amount of small actions occurred. Antoine's right hand shot downwards and grabbed the hilt of his sabre. It took nanoseconds for Elias' eyes to register the action, his brain computed what was happening, and sent a signal to his trigger finger, which took a few milliseconds. During this time, Ant's blade was making its way out of the scabbard, and into the air, slicing upwards. Elias's finger twitched, and the Pistol's hammer flew forward, and the pin struck the end of the cartridge. The small explosion dislodged the small piece of lead at the tip of the round and sent it flying through the barrel at around the speed of sound. But before the bullet could leave the barrel, Ant's sabre connected with the underside of the pistol, the force of the shot, combined with the sword's hit, pushed the pistol slightly upwards, causing the shot to miss Antoine's head by several millimeters, the pistol was then sent flying out of Elias' hand, and it discharged again after striking the floor, sending a round carelessly out of the tent.

Elias clutched his hand and fell to one knee, he was lucky that he didn't lose his hand. The pistol lay agonizingly close to him, but too far away to risk a move. He looked up at Ant, and began to laugh uncontrollably, he completely lost his cool. Antoine stood over him; his blade was inches from the Prince's neck.

"I told you not to try anything with me." Ant spoke nonchalantly. He blinked, and hobbled backwards, clutching his head. "Oh God." He shook his head and looked around, his eyes came to rest on the Prince, and they widened with realization. "I didn't m-"

Upon hearing the shots, guards rushed into the tent. About 20 of them were packed into the small space, trying to figure out what happened. Elias stood up, and screamed as loud as he could. "Apprehend Him!"

The guards complied, and soon they had Antoine subdued, caught in between two guards. He was blathering, repeating the same phrase over and over: "Didn't mean to, couldn't control myself" He said this over and over again, trying to get some understanding or sympathy from the guards.

"What should we do with him?"

Elias ignored the question; he walked right up to Antoine and punched him in the gut. "Damn it, Antoine!" He pulled his fist back, and punched him again. "We could've done this the easy way!" He pulled his hand back, and one final time, he smashed it into Ant's gut, knocking the breath out of him. The prince took a deep breath and straightened his jacket. He held Antoine by the chin, and lifted his head up to look him in the eye. "I'm not having you arrested."

"I-"Ant tried to speak; he tried to plead his case. He wasn't given the chance.

"Oh No, you're not going to jail. Not while I still have use for you." Elias spoke slowly, accentuating his disgust. "You still have a task to do, and I'll make sure to reserve you a spot at the front." He paused, and continued in a mocking tone. "But wait! I can't send a lieutenant to the front!" Elias's hand reached down and grabbed the patch on Ant's shoulder. He ripped it off. "Well I'll just have to send _Private_ D'Coolette instead."

"No!"

Elias backed up and looked at the guards around him. "Escort Private D'Coolette to the barracks." He paused. "If he does_ anything_, tell me." The guards dragged Ant out of the room, the coyote was screaming the whole time, blaming his lack of control for what happened. His pleas fell on deaf ears. "As you used to say, Antoine: 'Au Revoir!'" Ant was finally taken out of the tent, and Elias was left alone. He stood in the same spot for a few moments. He finally walked over and picked up his pistol, it now had a huge gash on the underside of the barrel, where it was hit by the sabre. He held it in his hands, and tried to understand what had just happened.

* * *

OH SNAP!

Ant got demoted!

Elias is emotionally crushed!

Another assignment for Ant!

And how about that crazy hit the gun with the sword scene! I love doing stuff like that.

Expect a lot more action in the next chapters, and a slight time skip.

More Stuff!

I'm so sorry Ant, i just have to keep screwing up your life! And don't worry Elias, it could be worse.

If you think i should be nicer to ant, say so! And if you want me to be meaner to Elias, too bad, i have other plans.

And expect more stuff about the 'mysterious stranger', keep guessing guys. There are only a few options, he was only mentioned, and he had no lines in the story, that's your hint.


End file.
